I. 


THE  BROOKSIDE. 

Stream  from  Shawnee  Cave,  100  yards  below  mouth  of  Cave.    See  the  poem 
"A  Rest  by  the  Brookside  ;"  also  page  121. 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE 


BY 

W.  S.  BLATCHLEY 


"I  make  it  my  business  to  extract  from  Nature  whatever  nutriment 
she  can  furnish  1110,  thoiiph  at  the  risk  of  endless  iteration.    I  milk  the 

earth  and  the  sky I  sift  the  sunbeams  for  the  public  pood." 

—  Thoreau. 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  NATURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
1899 


Copyright,  1899, 

By  W.  S.  BLATCHLEY. 

All  rights  reserved. 


PRESS  OF 
VM.  B.  BURFORD 
INDIANAPOLIS 


"Nature  never  did  betray 
The  heart  that  loved  her;  'tis  her  privilege, 
Through  all  the  years  of  this  our  life,  to  lead 
From  joy  to  joy;  for  she  can  so  inform 
The  mind  that  is  within  us,  so  impress 
With  quietness  and  beauty,  and  so  feed 
With  iofty  thoughts,  that  neither  evil  tongues, 
Rash  judgments,  nor  the  sneers  of  selfish  men, 
Nor  greetings  where  no  kindness  is,  nor  all 
The  dreary  intercourse  of  daily  life 
Shall  e'er  prevail  against  us,  or  disturb 
Our  cheerful  faith  that  all  which  we  behold 
Is  full  of  blessing." 

—  Wordsworth. 


"Whether  it  be  the  crested  tit  defying  the  chilliest  blast  of  January; 
violets  mantling  the  meadow  banks  in  April;  thrushes  singing  their 
farewell  summer  songs, or  dull  and  dreary,  dim  December  days  it  matters 
not— they  never  repeat  themselves,  or  else  I  am  daily  a  new  creature. 
Nor  sight  nor  sound  but  has  the  freshness  of  novelty,  and  one  rambler, 
at  least,  in  his  inaturer  years  is  still  a  boy  at  heart."—  C.  C.  Abbott. 


383458 


To  the  800,000  boys  and  girls  on  the  farms  of  Indiana  this 
little  volume  is  inscribed,  with  the  hope  that  it  may  create  in 
some  of  them  an  interest  in  the  many  objects  of  Nature  which 
surround  them  and  so  cause  them  to  be  less 

"Blind  to  her  beauties  everywhere  revealed," 
less  prone  to 

"Tread  the  May-flower  with  regardless  feet." 


PREFACE. 


This  volume  deals  with  a  few  of  the  many  natural 
ohjects  which  are  found  in  all  parts  of  Indiana.  It  is 
based  upon  studies  made  in  the  fields  and  woods  of 
the  Hoosier  State  during  the  past  ten  years.  The  aim 
has  been  to  present,  in  language  which  all  can  under- 
stand, facts  concerning  some  of  the  more  common 
plants  and  animals  which  are  our  friends,  our  helpers 
and  our  neighbors — and  which,  like  ourselves,  are  but 
a  part  and  parcel  of  the  Universe  The  only  technical 
terms  used  are  the  scientific  names  of  some  of  the  ob- 
jects mentioned.  These  are  printed  in  Italics  and  can 
be  readily  passed  over  by  all  to  whom  they  are  unin- 
telligible. 

The  contents  have,  for  the  most  part,  appeared  else- 
where as  isolated  articles,  notably  in  the  Terre  Haute 
Gazette,  the  Indianapolis  Sunday  Journal,  The  Indi- 
ana Farmer  and  the  Popular  Science  Monthly.  For 
the  present  occasion  they  have,  for  the  first  time,  been 
brought  together,  and  have  been  carefully  revised  and 
enlarged. 

The  volume  is  sent  forth  with  the  hope  that  among 
the  farmers  of  the  future  and  the  teachers  of  country 
schools  it  will,  at  least,  have  a  welcome  ;  for  the  author 
knows  by  experience,  both  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
school  room,  that  the  possession  of  a  better  knowledge 
of  nature  by  country  youths  is  one  of  the  crying  needs 

(5) 


6  rnVl':lCE. 

of  the  hour.  With  such  a  knowledge  generally  dif- 
fused there  would  be  less  dissatisfaction  with  country 
life  and  fewer  farmers'  sons  and  daughters  would  flock 
to  the  cities,  because,  as  a  recent  writer  expresses  it, 
"they  wish  to  get  rid  of  the  prosy,  stunting,  isolated 
life  on  the  farm."  With  a  knowledge  of  some  of 
nature's  objects  and  a  desire  to  ferret  out  for  them- 
selves some  of  her  secrets,  they  would  have  some- 
thing of  which  to  talk  and  think  besides  crops,  stock, 
work,  neighborhood  gossip  and  local  politics,  and  the 
attractions  of  the  city  would  seldom  excel  those  to  be 
found  on  the  old  homestead. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

A  REST  BY  THE  BROOKSIDE.  . .  x , .  „ 

HARBINGERS  OF  SPRING 9 

IVo  FOPS  AMONG  THE  FISHES .-, , 19 

SNAKES 27 

A  FEATHERED  MIDGET  AND  ITS  NEST 75 

MID-SUMMER  ALONG  TriE  OLD  CANAL ..........  82 

THE  IRON-WEED 91 

TEN  INDIANA  CAVES   AND   THE  ANIMALS  WHICH   INHABIT 

THEM 99 

A  DAY  IN  A  TAMARACK  SWAMP 179 

MID-AUTUMN  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL 189 

KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN 197 

WEEDS  IN  GENERAL  AND  OUR  WORST  WEEDS  IN  PARTICULAR.  245 

TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS '.. 253 

How  PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  SPEND  THE  WINTER 313 

A  SEEKER  AFTER  GOLD 335 


(7) 


A  REST  BY  THE  BROOKSIDE. 


Dreaming  dreams  of  other  days, 
Thinking  thoughts  of  long  ago, 

List'ning  to  the  robin's  lays 
And  the  cawing  of  the  crow. 

Ivy  flowers  beside  me  peep 

Upward  through  the  ether  blue, 

Seeing  stars  which  ever  keep 
Hidden  close  from  human  view. 

Bumble-bees  around  me  drone, 

Butterflies  beside  me  flit ; 
From  the  woods  in  cheery  tone 

Comes  the  call  of  crested  tit. 

Swallows  swiftly  cleave  the  air 
Chasing  insects  on  the  wing ; 

Scolding  chats  with  saucy  dare 
Make  the  copse  and  .welkin  ring. 

Gurgling  waters  at  my  feet 
Quickly  o'er  their  pebbly  bed 

Leap  and  plunge ;  and  onward  meet 
Other  streams  by  springlcts  fed. 

Odors  sweet  on  every  breeze 

Come  to  me  from  wild-wood  flowers, 
While  the  blossoms  from  the  trees 

Fall  around  in  fragrant  showers. 

Happy  moments  thus  I  gaze 

Heavenward  ;  and  younger  grow, 

Dreaming  dreams  of  other  days, 
Thinking  thoughts  of  long  ago, 

(8) 


HARBINGERS  OF  SPRING. 


SYMBOLS  OF  THE    SEASON   WHICH    MAY   BE    SEEN    IN 
WOODS  AND  FIELDS. 

When  the  month  hand  on  the  dial  plate  of  the  year 
points  to  March  who,  in  the  latitude  of  Indiana,  is  not 
daily  expecting  spring?  What  human  being  is  not 
made  glad  when  it  finally  arrives  ?  Four  months  of 
biting  winds  and  hoar  frosts;  months  in  which  the 
skies  are  almost  daily  overcast  with  dull  dreary  clouds ; 
months  of  alternate  rains  and  sleets  and  snows,  are 
enough  to  cause  an  intense  longing  for  change  in  the 
human  mind  and  to  bring  to  it  a  glow  of  happiness 
when  the  first  warm  breezes  blow  up  from  the  gulf 
and  man  can  say  with  reason — "  Spring  has  come 
again."  Then  the  dormant  energies  within  us  spring 
into  new  life.  The  doors  and  windows  of  our  houses 
are  thrown  open  wide.  Smiles  are  seen  on  faces  to 
which  for  the  most  part  they  are  strangers.  Wee  tots 
of  children  run  unattended  up  and  down  the  streets 
and  laugh  and  shout  with  joy.  Matrons  forget  or 
cast  aside  set  social  rules  and  stop  and  chat  in  one 
another's  dooryards.  Fancied  class  distinctions,  based 
on  wealth  or  "  blue  blood,"  are  forgotten  and,  for  the 
time  being,  the  members  of  the  human  family  are 
more  akin  than  at  any  other  season  of  the  year.  All 
are  enjoying  a  common  blessing,  for  spring  comes 

(9) 


10  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

alike  to  rich  and  poor,  to  high  and  low,  and  all  can 
revel  in  its  presence. 

To  one  accustomed  to  visit  the  woods  and  fields 
during  March  there  appear  many  unerring  signs  of 
the  coming  spring-time  which,  to  persons  living  in 
towns  and  cities,  are  often  unnoticed  and  unknown. 
The  growth  and  flowering  of  certain  wild  plants;  the 
awakening  from  their  winter's  sleep  of  reptiles,  frogs 
and  insects ;  the  arrival  of  the  first  migrating  birds, 
are  to  the  careful  observer  sure  harbingers  of  the  close 
approach  of  the  vernal  season.  If  in  March  there 
occurs,  as  often  happens,  several  successive  days  of 
warm  weather  more  than  a  dozen  kinds  of  wild  plants 
will  come  into  bloom.  They  are  the  fore-runners  or 
vanguard  of  the  eight  to  nine  hundred  species  of  flow- 
ering plants  which,  in  any  county  of  Indiana,  open 
their  petals  in  successive  rotation  between  March  the 
first  and  mid-October. 

Perhaps  the  earliest  flowers  of  spring  are  those  of 
the  red  or  swamp  maple,  Acer  rubrum  Linn.,  a  medium- 
sized  tree  which  grows  in  abundance  in  damp  lowland 
soil.  This  maple  is  often  brought  into  the  cities  and 
palmed  off  on  unsuspecting  buyers  of  shade  trees  as 
the  soft  or  white  maple,  Acer  saccharinum  Linn.  Both 
of  these  trees  differ  in  their  habits  of  flowering  from 
the  rock  or  sugar  maple,  Acer  saccharurn  Marsh,  in. 
that  their  blossoms  appear  before  their  leaves.  The 
flowers  of  the  red  maple  are  a  handsome  deep  red  in 
color  and  are  arranged  on  very  short  stems  in  little 
clusters  near  the  ends  of  the  branches.  They  some- 
times open  in  February,  as  they  are  formed  in  autumn, 
and,  protected  only  by  the  enveloping  bud  scales,  are 


II. 


J 


SNOW  TRILLIUM. 

Trillium  nivale  Rid-iell. 


HARBINGERS  OF  SPRING.  11 

ready  to  unfold  as  soon  as  the  dormant  sap  of  the 
parent  tree  is  awakened  by  a  genial  south  wind.  The 
blossoms  of  the  soft  maple  usually  open  a  fortnight 
1  ater  than  those  of  the  red  maple.  They  are  yellowish-- 
green in  color  and  are  borne  on  longer  stems. 

Of  the  herbs  which  bloom  in  March  there  are  two 
which,  in  central  Indiana,  vie  with  the  red  maple  in 
producing  the  first  wild  flowers  of  spring.  They  are 
the  little  snow  trillium,  Trillium  nivale  liiddell,  and  a 
species  of  Draba,  or  whitlow-grass,  both  inconspicuous 
plants  and  known  for  the  most  part  only  to  botanists 
and  close  observers  of  nature.  The  snow  trillium  be- 
longs to  the  Lily  family  and  grows  only  at  the  base 
of  rocky  cliffs  or  in  crevices  along  the  sides  of  ravines 
which  have  a  sunny  southern  exposure.  It  seldom 
exceeds  four  inches  in  height,  -and,  as  its  name, 
"trillium,"  indicates,  has  its  parts  in  threes  or  multi- 
ples of  three.  Three  dark  green,  ovate  leaves  grow 
in  a  whorl  at  the  summit  of  the  slender  stem,  and 
from  their  midst  springs  the  stalk  of  the  solitary 
flower.  This  is  composed  of  three  narrow  green 
sepals,  three  oblong  pure  white  petals,  each  about  an 
inch  in  length,  six  yellow  stamens,  three  styles  and  an 
ovary  or  seed  pod  containing  three  cells,  each  with  a 
number  of  minute  seeds.  The  plant  springs  from  the 
ground  and  blooms  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours,  ami 
where  one  day  all  is  brown  and  sere,  on  the  second 
day  thereafter  may  be  found  an  abundance  of  these 
little  trilliurns — true  earth-born  harbingers  of  the 
approaching  springtime. 

They  may  be  found  in  blossom  as  early  as  March 
2<1,  and  are  often  in  their  prime  by  the  tenth  of 


12  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

the  month.  Hovering  above  them  on  both,  dates 
have  been  seen  specimens  of  Vanessa  antiopa  Linn., 
that  handsome  velvety -brown  butterfly,  called  the 
mourning  cloak,  or  Camberwell  beauty.  This  is  the 
most  common  of  the  five  species  of  butterflies  which 
in  Indiana  pass  the  cold  season  in  the  perfect  or  winged 
stage.  For  four  long  months  they  remain  securely 
hidden  in  crevices  of  rocks  or  logs.  When  called 


Fig.  1 — Camberwell  Beauty.    (After  Harris.) 
%         (The  under  side  of  \\  in<<  is  shown  on  the  right.) 

forth  by  the  warm  spring  breezes  they  find  ready  and 
waiting  for  them  the  snow  trilliums  with  their  store 
of  honey,  and,  after  their  prolonged  fast,  they  no  doubt 
feast  bountifully  thereon.  Thus  is  seen  an  example 
of  that  mutual  interdependence  existing  everywhere 
among  the  various  objects  of  nature,  for  never  does  an 
insect  come  forth  until  its  food  plant  is  ready;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  plant  seldom  blooms  but  an 
insect  appears  ready  to  aid  in  its  fertilization. 


HARBINGERS  OF  SPRING.  13 

Springing  as  it  does  from  crevices  and  crannies  in 
rocky  cliffs,  reaching  maturity  and  flowering  as  it  does 
when  all  nature  is  destitute  of  bloom,  the  first  snow 
trillium  of  spring  carries  ever  with  it  a  reminder  of 
those  lines  of  Tennyson  : 

"Flower  in  the  crannied  wall, 
I  pluck  you  out  of  the  crannies; 
Hold  you  here,  root  and  all,  in  my  hand, 
Little  flower,  but  if  I  could  understand 
What  you  are,  root  and  all,  and  all  in  all, 
I  should  know  what  God  and  man  is." 

Two  species  of  Draba,  or  whitlow-grass,  grow  in 
central  Indiana,  viz.,  D.  caroliniana  Walt,  and  D.  verna 
Linn.  They  are  the  smallest  members  of  the  Cruciferce, 
or  Mustard  family,  and  have  their  minute  and  hairy 
oblong  leaves  clustered  in  a  rosette  close  to  the  ground. 
From  the  center  of  this  rosette  the  leafless  flower- 
stalk  springs.  The  flowers  are  white,  ten  to  fifteen  in 
number,  and  have  the  parts  in  fours,  except  the 
stamens,  which  are  six.  The  plants  are  found  on 
dry,  sandy  hillsides  in  open  fields.  Rising  less  than 
three  inches  above  the  ground,  they  bloom  on  the  first 
warm  days  of  March,  and  their  seeds  are  ripened  by 
mid- April.  Their  work  is,  therefore,  over  before  that 
of  many  plants  is  begun.  They  succeed  in  the  struggle 
for  existence  by  being  first  upon  the  scene  of  action. 
Drinking  long  and  deep  of  the  bright  spring  suiishine, 
they  soon  give  way  to  their  competitors,  but  not  before 
their  life's  duty — the  perpetuation  of  their  kind — has 
been  fulfilled. 

On  soft,  springy  banks  one  also  finds  in  earliest 
spring  the  curiously  formed  flower  of  the  skunk  cab- 


14  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

bage,  Symplocarpus  foctidus  JSTutt.  It  is,  as  it  were, 
a' leafless  flower,  barely  rising  out  of  the  ground.  At 
flrst  the  only  semblance  of  a  leaf  is  the  enveloping 
spathe  (like  that  of  a  calla  lily),  which  is  variously 
striped  and  spotted  with  purple  and  yellowish  green, 
and  has  its  top  incurved  or  bent  over  like  a  bird's 
beak  to  protect  the  enclosed  flowers  from  any  wintry 
blast  which  may  arise.  The  true  flowers  are  numer- 
ous, small  and  inconspicuous,  and  are  borne  on  a 
thick,  fleshy  spadix  or  central  axis  within  the  spathe. 
The  plant,  after  flowering,  sends  up  a  thick  cluster 
of  large  ovate  leaves,  eighteen  inches  or  more  long, 
which  surround  the  spathe.  These  leaves,  when 
bruised,  give  off  an  odor  resembling  somewhat  both 
that  of  a  skunk  and  a  mess  of  strong  onions,  or  a 
kind  of  potpourri  of  the  two,  hence  the  common  name 
of  "  skunk^  cabbage "  by  which  the  plant  is  known. 
Rich  in  pollen,  the  flowers  of  this  plant  furnish  the 
first  meal  of  spring  to  "many  a  honey-bee ;  for  the  first 
warm  day  of  March  tempts  these  busy  insects  forth 
in  numbers,  and  they  find  their  way  unerringly  to 
the  few  flowers  then  in  bloom. 

Other  plants  there  are?  more  striking  and  more 
beautiful  than  those  mentioned,  which  soon  open  wide: 
their  petals  to  the  sunshine  of  spring.  Among  the 
more  common  of  them  is  the  hepatica,  or  liverwort, 
Hepati'ca  triloba  Chaix. ;  the  turkey  pea,  or  "pepper 
and  salt,"  Erigcenia  bulbosa  Michx. ;  the  spring  beauty, 
Claytonia  virginica  Linn.,  and  the  cowslip,  or  marsh 
marigold,  Caltha  palustris  Linn.,  but  they  are  followers, 
not  leaders  in  the  floral  army.  When  they  blossom 
spring  is  here.  But  the  flowers  of  the  red  maple, 


III. 


SKUNK  CABBAGE. 

Symplocarpus  fuetidus  Nutt. 


HAEBINGEES  OF  SPRING.  15 

snow  tri  Ilium,  whitlow -grass  and  skunk  cabbage  are 
the  pioneers,  the  true  harbingers,  which  herald  its 
approach. 

A  great  awakening  also  takes  place  among  the 
varied  forms  of  animal  life  on  the  first  warm  days  of 
March.  Among  insects  the  wherrymen,  those  long- 
legged  water  bugs  which  go  skipping  so  easily  and 
rapidly  over  the  surface  of  quiet  pools,  and  the  whirling 
beetles  which  in  vast  colonies  go  circling  round  and 
round  on  the  water,  are  the  first  ones  out.  Fuzzy  gnats^ 

"Old  back-bent  fellows, 
In  frugal  frieze  coat  drest," 

come  forth  from  their  snug  retreats  beneath  the  bark 
of  the  beech  and  other  logs,  and,  swarming  in  the  air, 
cany  on  a  sort  of  rhythmical  courtship,  flitting  up 
and  down  in  the  same  vertical  plane  in  a  dreamy, 
dancing  sort  of  motion. 

Beetles,  of  which,  in  any  county  in  Indiana,  fully 
three  hundred  kinds  survive  the  cold  season  in  the 
winged  stage,  crawl  out  from  their  winter  hiding 
places  and  a-wooing  go,  buzzing  and  humming  with 
extra  energy  to  attract  the  notice  of  others  of  their 
kind.  With  the  hibernating  butterflies  mentioned 
above,  and  numerous  ki'nds  of  wild  bees  and  flies, 
they  frequent  the  freshly  cut  stumps  of  the  sugar 
maple,  where  they  sip  eagerly  the  sweet  exuding  sap. 

Higher  in  the  scale  of  animal  life  omens  of  ap- 
proaching spring  may  be  seen  in  the  movements  of 
fishes.  Thrilled  with  the  impulse  of  migration,  many 
of  the  smaller  species  begin  in  February  and  March 
to  ascend  small  streams  and  brooks,  where,  beneath 


16  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

the  shelving  banks  and  in  the  still  waters  of  the 
deeper  pools,  they  make  their  summer  homes. 

Frogs  are  among  the  best  of  weather  prophets. 
They  seem  to  know  intuitively  when  the  spring  is 
full  on  its  way.  Long  before  the  frost  is  wholly  out 
of  the  ground  the  sluggish  blood  within  their  veins 
begins  to  tingle,  and  they  greet  the  first  dawn  of 
spring  with  a  mighty  chorus — a  blare  of  welcoming 
trumpets,  as  it  were — in  which  the  bull-frog  furnishes 
the  bass  and  the  little  cricket  frog  or  "  peeper,"  Acris 
gryllus  crepitans  Baird,  the  shrill  whistling  tenor,  i^o 
sound  of  nature  so  loudly  or  so  surely  proclaims  the 
advent  of  spring  as  this  full  symphony  of  frog  music 
heard  from  some  woodland  pond. 

The  arrival  of  the  first  migrant  birds  is  also  a  sure 
symbol  of  the  coming  spring.  About  180  species  pass 
northward  through  Indiana  between  February  15  and 
the  10th  of  May.  In  addition  to  these  at  least  seven- 
ty-five kinds  stop  in  the  State  and  nest  and  rear  their 
young.  Wild  geese  and  ducks  are  the  first  ones  to 
be  seen  northward  bound.  Impelled  by  the  pairing 
instincts,  thousands  of  squads  of  these  water  birds 
start  in  February  from  the  sunny  lakes  and  lagoons 
of  the  South  for  the  still  cold  and  cheerless  breeding 
grounds  that  extend  from  the  Northern  States  through 
British  America  to  the  Arctic  seas.  The  AVI  Id  geese 
fly,  as  is  well  kno\vn,  in  a  V-shaped  line,  Avith  the 
apex  forward.  Their  leader  is  a  strong-winged  gan- 
der, who  keeps  his  place  at  the  point  of  the  V,  and 
the  clarion-toned  "honk"  with  AAThich  he  giA^es  his 
orders  is  the  first  note  of  that  coming  bird  chorus, 
which,  starting  from  the  gulf,  will,  with  the  south 


HARBINGERS  OF  SPRING. 


17 


winds,  soon  sweep  northward  through  field  and  forest 
in  an  unbroken  wave  to  the  very  pole  itself. 

In  the  close  wake  of  the  larger  water  fowl  come 
the  snipe  and  the  woodcock,  Philohda  minor  (Gmel.) 
—the  latter  arriving  so  early  that  a  full  set  of  its  eggs 
was  once  found  by  the  writer  on  the  28th  of  March. 


.  2—  The  Flicker  or  Yellow-hammer.    (After  Real.) 


Among  the  land  birds  two  of  the  first  to  arrive  are 
the  flicker,  or  yellow-hammer,  Colaptes  auratus  (Linn.), 
and  the  red-shouldered  blackbird,  Agelaius  phocmceus 
(Linn.);  and  the  prolonged  "wick-a-wick-a-wick"  of 
the  former  and  the  clear,  ringing  "puck-e-e-eet"  of 
2 


18  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

the  latter  are  familiar  greetings  given  the  rambler  in 
open  woods  in  early  March.  These  birds  are  soon 
followed  by  the  handsome  but  little-known  fox  spar- 
row, Passerdla  iliaca  (Merr.),  whose  rich  strains, 
heard  from  the  underbrush  along  the  streams,  form 
the  first  real  song  of  spring. 

Some  years  winter  lingers  unusually  long  in  the  Jap 
of  spring,  and  two-thirds  of  March  may  come  and  go 
and  but  few  of  the  harbingers  above  mentioned  be 
seen.  But  that  day  of  great  awakening,  which  in  the 
temperate  zone  comes  each  year  to  all  animate  things, 
in  time  arrives.  We  should  expect  it,  should  rejoice 
to  see  it,  should  give  it  hearty  greeting.  In  the  words 
of  Thoreau :  "  Measure  your  health  by  your  sym- 
pathy with  morning  and. spring.  If  there  is  no  re- 
sponse in  you  to  the  awakening  of  nature;  if  the 
prospect  of  an  early  morning  walk  does  riot  banish 
sleep;  if  the  warble  of  the  first  bluebird  does  not 
thrill  you,  know  that  the  morning  and  spring  of  your 
life  are  past.  Thus  may  you  feel  your  pulse." 


TWO  FOPS  AMONG  THE  FISHES. 


I.— THE  KAINBOW  DAKTEE. 

"Little  fishy  in  the  brook." 

]Srot  the  one  "daddy  caught  with  a  hook,"  but  an- 
other, too  small  for  the  hook,  too  small  for  the  frying- 
pan,  too  small  for  aught  else  but  beauty,  and  grace- 
fulness of  form ;  and  yet  not  the  young  of  a  larger 
fish,  but  full  grown  of  himself.  In  every  brook  in 
the  State  he  may  be  found,  yea,  even  in  the  rill,  no 
more  than  a  foot  in  width,  which  leads  away  from  the 
old  si >riii£-house  on  the  hillside.  You  will  not  find 

i  O 

him  swimming  about  like  the  minnows  in  the  still 
deep  water  of  the  strain,  but  where  the  clear  cold 
water  is  rushing  rapidly  over  the  stones  of  a  ripple 
he  makes  his  home.  There  he  rests  quietly  on  the 
bottom,  waiting  patiently  for  his  food,  the  larvse  or 
young  of  gnats,  mosquitoes  and  other  such  insects,  to 
float  by. 

If  you  attempt  to  catch  him,  or  your  shadow  sud- 
denly frightens  him,  with  a  sweep  of  his  broad  pec- 
toral or  breast  fins,  he  moves  quicker  than  a  flash  a  fe>v 
feet  farther  up  the  stream  and  then  as  suddenly  comes 
to  a  stop,  and  resumes  his  qiiiet  "  thoughtful"  atti- 
tude. If  you  persist  in  your  attempt  to  capture  him 
he  will  dart  under  a  small  stone  or  submerged  leaf, 
where,  like  the  foolish  ostrich  which  when  pursued 

(19)       • 


20  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

hides  her  head  under  her  wing,  no  longer  seeing  you, 
he  thinks  himself  secure. 

On  account  of  the  shape  of  his  body  as  well  as  on 
account  of  his  rapid  movements  he  has  received  the 
surname  "darter."  Belonging  to  the  group  which 
bear  this  surname,  there  are,  in  the  eastern  half  of  the 
United  States,  about  47  species  or  kinds,  the  largest 
of  which,  when,  full  grown,  measures  only  about  six 
inches  in  length,  while  the  smallest  species  never 
reaches  a  length  of  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half. 
They  all  have  the  same  habits,  and  at  least  29  kinds 
of  them  are  found  in  Indiana;  but  the  one  of  which  I 
am  writing,  Etheostoma  coeruleum  Storer,  is  much  the 


.  3  —  Rainbow  Darter. 


more  common.  He  is  from  two  to  two  and  a  half 
inches  in  length,  and,  like  the  other  members  of  his 
family,  has  two  fins  on  his  back  ;  "  dorsal  "  fins  they  are 
called  by  naturalists,  the  front  one  of  which  contains 
10  short  spines.  During  eight  months  of  the  year, 
the  males  and  females  dress  alike  in  a  suit  of  brown- 
ish olive  which  is  striped  on  the  sides  with  10  or.  12 
narrow,  black  cross-bars,  and  more  or  less  blotched 
on  the  back  with  darker  spots.  But  on  the  first  warm 
days  of  spring  when  the  breezes  blow  up  from  the 
gulf,  awakening  the  gypsy  in  our  blood,  the  little 
male  fish  feels,  too,  their  influence,  and  in  him  there 


TWO  FOPS  AMONG  THE  FISHES.  21 

Srises  an  irresistible  desire  to  "a  courting  go."  Like 
most  other  beings  of  his  sex  he  thinks  his  every-day 
suit  too  plain  for  the  important  business  before  him. 
It  will,  in  his  opinion,  ne'er  catch  the  eye  of  his  lady 
love.  So  he  dons  one  of  gaudy  colors  and  from  it 
takes  his  name — the  rainbow  darter — for  in  it  he  is 
best  known,  as  it  not  only  attracts  the  attention  of  his 
chosen  one,  but  often  also  that  of  the  wandering  natu- 
ralist who  happens  along  the  stream. 

The  blackish  bar's  of  other  seasons  are  changed  to 
indigo  blue,  while  the  space  between  them  assumes  a 
hue  of  the  brightest  orange.  The  fins  are  broadly 
edged  with  blue  and  have  the  bases  orange,  or  orange 
and  scarlet,  while  the  cheeks  assume  the  blue  and  the 
breast  becomes  an  orange.  Clad  in  this  suit  he  ven- 
tures forth  on  his  mission,  and  if  successful,  as  he 
almost  always  is,  the  two  construct  a  nest  of  tiny 
stones  in  which  the  eggs  of  the  mother  fish  are  laid 
and  watched  over  with  jealous  care  by  both  parents 
until  in  time  there  issue  forth  sons  destined  some  day 
to  wear  a  coat  of  many  colors,  and  "darters"  to  be 
attracted  by  those  coats,  as  was  their  mother  by  the 
one  their  father  wore. 

Although  so  abundant  and  so  brilliant  in  the  spring- 
time, the  rainbow  darter  is  known  to  few  but  natural- 
ists. The  fishes  in  which  the  average  country  boy  is 
interested,  are  the  larger  ones — such  as  the  goggle- 
eye,  the  sucker,  chub  and  sunfish — those  which,  when 
caught,  will  fill  up  the  string  and  tickle  the  palate.  . 

But  there  are,  let  us  hope,  among  our  farmers'  sons 
and  daughters,  some  who  are  learning  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  objects  of  nature  which  are  beautiful, 


22  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

as  well  as  in  those  which  are  useful.  To  them  I  will 
say,  if  you  wish  to  see  something  really  pretty,  make 
a  seine  from  an  old  coffee  sack  or  a  piece  of  mosquito 
netting,  and  any  day  in  spring  drag  two  or  three  rip- 
ples of  the  branch  which  flows  through  the  wood's 
pasture,  and  ten  chances  to  one  you  will  get  some 
" rainbows."  By  placing  them  in  a  fruit  jar  three- 
fourths  full  of  clear,  cold  water,  and  renewing  the 
water  every  few  hours,  they  can  be  kept  for  several 
days;  but  they  can  not  bear  the  confinement  long, 
accustomed  as  they  are  to  the  free  running  stream 
from  which  they  were  taken. 

By  taking  the  rainbow  as  the  type  of  the  darter 
and  studying  closely  its  habits,  both  in  captivity  and 
in  the  streams,  much  can  be  learned  about  a  group 
which,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  S.  A.  Forbes,  "are  the 
mountaineers  among  fishes.  Forced  from  the  popu- 
lous and  fertile  valleys  of  the  river  beds  and  lake  bot- 
toms, they  have  taken  refuge  from  their  enemies  in 
the  rocky  highlands  where  the  free  waters  play  in 
ceaseless  torrents,  and  there  they  have  wrested  from 
stubborn  nature  a  meager  living.  Although  dimin- 
ished in  size  by  their  continual  struggle  with  the 
elements,  they  have  developed  an  activity  and  hardi- 
hood, a  vigor  of  life  and  a  glow  of  high  color  almost 
unknown  among  the  easier  livers  of  the  lower  lands." 

II.— THE  LONG-EARED  SUNFISH. 

Among  the  most  brightly  colored  of  all  the  fresh 
w'ater  members  of  the  finny  tribe  is  the  long-eared 
sunfish,  Lepomis  megalotis  (Raf.).  When  full  grown 


TWO  FOPS  AMONG  THE  FISHES. 


23 


its  length  is  about  eight  inches  and  the  breadth  one- 
half  as  much.  The  color  is  then  a  brilliant  blue  and 
orange,  the  former  predominating  above;  the  orange 
on  the  sides  in  spots,  the  blue  in  wavy,  vertical  streaks. 
The  cheeks  are  orange  with  bright  blue  stripes ;  the 
fins  with  the  membranes  orange  and  the  rays  blue. 
Extending  back  from  the  hind  margin  of  each  cheek 
is  a  conspicuous  blackish  membrane  termed  an  "ear- 
flap,"  which  in  this  species  is  longer  than  in  any  other 


Fig.  4— Long-eared  Sunfish. 
(One -half  natural  size.) 

of  the  sunfish  family,  whence  the  specific  name, 
megalotis,  from  two  Greek  words  meaning  "great" 
and  uea*r". 

Within  the  placid  pools  of  the  brooks  and  larger 
streams  of  the  State  this  sunfish  has  its  favorite  haunts. 
Mid-summer  is  the  time  when  its  habits  can  be  best 
observed.  On  a  recent  August  morn  I  sat  for  an  hour 
on  the  banks  of  a  stream,  which  flows 


24  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

through  a  wooded  blue-grass  pasture,  and  watched 
the  denizens  of  its  waters.  A  peaceful  calm  existed, 
the  water  being  without  a  ripple  and  with  scarce  the 
semblance  of  a  flow — the  air  without  the  shadow  of  a 
breeze.  Dragon  flies  lazily  winged  their  way  across 
the  pool,  now  resting  daintily  upon  a  blade  of  sedge 
or  swamp  grass,  now  dipping  the  tips  of  their  abdo- 
mens beneath  the  surface  of  the  water  while  deposit- 
ing their  eggs.  The  only  sounds  of  nature  were  the 
buzz  of  a  bumble-bee  feeding  among  the  flowers  of 
the  JZrunella  at  my  side,  and  an  occasional  drawl  of  a 
dog-day  locust  from  the  branches  of  the  sycamore 
which  threw  a  grateful  shade  about  me. 

The  sunflsh  "hung  motionless"  in  the  water,  their 
heads  towards  me,  holding  their  position  only  by  a 
slow  flapping  of  their  dorsal  and  pectoral  fins.  Their 
nesting  time  over,  their  season's  labor  ended,  it  was 
with  them,  as  with  many  other  beings,  a  time  of 
languor. 

These  long-eared  fishes  are  the  lords  and  ladies  of 
the  respective  pools  wherein  they  abide.  When  they 
move  other  smaller  fry  clear  the  way.  If  a  worm  or 
gnat,  falling  upon  the  surface,  tempts  them,  it  is  theirs. 
A  leaf  falls  near  them  and  is  seemingly  unnoticed — a 
fly,  and  how  quickly  their  dormant  energy  is  put  into 
motion.  With  a  dart  and  a  gulp  the  insect  is  swal- 
lowed and  a  new  stage  of  waiting  expectancy  is 
ushered  in. 

How  admirably  fitted  their  form  for  cleaving  the 
water!  They  often  seem  to  glide  rather  than  propel 
themselves  through  its  depths.  Again,  how  swiftly 
the  caudal  fin  moves  when  with  straight  unerring 


TWO  FOPS  AMONG  THE  FISHES.  25 

motion  they  dart  upon  their  prey.  At  times  one  turns 
his  body  sideways  and,  with  a  slow,  upAvard-gliding 
motion,  moves  toward  some  object  on  the  surface 
which  is  doubtfully  "good  to  eat."  He  even  takes  it 
into  his  mouth  and  then,  not  having  faith  in  his  power 
to  properly  digest  it,  ejects  it  with  force,  and  turning 
quickly  darts  back  to  the  friendly  shadow  of  a  bowlder 
beneath  whose  sides  he  has,  in  time  of  threatened 
danger,  a  safe  retreat. 

I  throw  a  grasshopper  into  the  pool.  Like  a  flash 
six  of  the  sunfish  are  after  it.  One  reaches  it  a  tenth 
of  a  second  in  advance  of  the  others,  and  with  a  light- 
ning-like gulp,  which  disturbs  the  serenity  of  the 
surface  of  the  pool,  swallows  the  kicking  prey.  The 
energy  of  the  sun's  heat  and  light,  stored  in  grass, 
transmitted  to  move  muscles  in  gigantic  leaps,  will,  in 
a  short  time,  wag  a  caudal  fin  and  propel  the  owner 
through  these  watery  depths. 

Years  are  thus  doubtless  spent  by  these  long-eared 
sunfish  in  a  dreamy  sort  of  existence,  their  energies 
quickened  by  the  vernal  season  and  growing  duller  on 
the  approach  of  winter.  Excepting  the  times  when 
they  are  tempted  by  a.  wriggling  worm  on  some  boy's 
hook,  theirs  is  a  life  exempt  from  danger.  A  king- 
fisher glancing  down  from  his  perch  on  the  bent  syc- 
amore limb  may,  at  times,  discern  them  and  lessen 
their  ranks;  but,  methinks,  the  chub  minnows,  with 
fewer  spines  in  their  dorsal  fins,  are  more  agreeable 
to  the  kingfisher's  palate.  With  all  the  tints  of  the 
rainbow  gleaming  from  their  sides  they  move  to  and 
fro,  the  brilliant  rulers  of  these  quiet  pools. 

The  king  or  monarch  of  -those  noted   was  most 


26  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

gorgeously  arrayed.  In  addition  to  the  hues  above 
described,  a  streak  of  emerald  bordered  his  dorsal  and 
caudal  fins  and  was  bent  around  the  edge  of  his  upper 
lip — a  green  mustache,  as  it  were.  By  tolling  them 
with  occasional  bits  of  food  I  drew  him  and  his  reti- 
nue close  into  shore.  There,  for  some  time  they  rested, 
watching  eagerly  for  additional  morsels.  As  I  was 
leaving  I  plucked  from  my  sleeve  an  ant  and  threw  it 
towards  them.  A  dart,  a  gurgle,  a  gulp— the  leader 
had  leaped  half  his  length  from  the  water,  and  the  ant 
was  forever  gone.  The  ripples  receded  and  finally 
disappeared,  and  the  last  scene  in  this  tragedy  of 
nature  was  at  an  end. 


SNAKES. 


I.— SNAKES  IN   GENEEAL. 

Snake,  season  will  soon  be 'here  once  more.  Even 
now*  the  editors  of  the  country  newspapers  are  poring 
over  the  musty  pages  of  some  ancient  natural  history 
or  seeking  amidst  those  still  more  musty  convolutions 
of  their  brains  in  which  their  natural  history  facts  are 
stored,  to  find  a  basis  for  one  of  the  annual  snake  lies, 
.which,  like  the  dandelions,  are  sure  to  appear  when 
spring  approach eth.  For  next  to  "  fish  stories,"  news- 
paper "  snake  lies "  are  sure  to  be  appreciated  and 
believed  in  by  a  certain  class  of  readers.  True  it  is 
that  the  editor  or  reporter  does  not  always  clothe  the 
he  in  all  its  after  habiliments,  but  each  reader  on 
repeating  it  to  his  neighbor  adds  a  garment,  until  out 
of  "whole  cloth,"  as  it  were,  the  lie  becomes  a  finished 
product  and  is  repeated  so  often  that  it  is  finally 
believed  as  gospel  truth. 

Examples  of  such  snake  lies  are  the  "  hoop  snake  " 
which,  taking  its  tail  in  its  mouth,  rolls  rapidly  on- 
ward until  it  strikes  a  tree  into  which 
Some  Common  .,  -,  .,  ,  .,  .  .  ,, 

Snake  Lies  darts  its  tail,  poisoning  the  sap  and 

causing  the  death  of  the  tree;  the 
"  glass  snake  "  which,  when  approached,  breaks  into  a 
score  of  pieces,  and  when  unobserved  quickly  joins 

*Terre  Haute  Gazette,  April  2d,  1892. 

(27) 


28  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

them  again  in  the  proper  order  and  moves  rapidly 
away ;  the  black  snake  "  eight  feet  long  and  as  thick 
as  your  wrist"  ;  the  spreading  viper  "  the  most  poison- 
ous of  all  snakes,"  and  of  which  one  writer  has  said  : 
"When  approached  it  becomes  flat,  appears  of  differ- 
ent colors,  and  opens  its  mouth  hissing.  Great  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  enter  the  atmosphere  which  sur- 
rounds it.  It  decomposes  the  air,  which,  imprudently 
inhaled,  produces  languor,  the  person  waste^  away, 
the  lungs  are  affected  and  in  the  course  of  four  months 
he  dies  of  consumption."  That  this  last  story,  or 
something  akin  to  it,  is  commonly  believed,  is  proven 
by  the  fact  that  a  prominent  citizen  once  told  the 
writer  that  the  breath  of  the  spreading  viper  had 
caused  him  a  two  weeks'  spell  of  sickness. 

Many  other  "snake  lies"  the  writer  has  heard,  and, 
to  tell  the  truth,  believed  in,  until  he  came  to  get  his 
knowledge  first  hand  by  studying  the  creatures  in 
their  chosen  haunts,  when  he  saw  how  unworthy  of 
belief  many  of  these  stories  are.  For  example,  taking 
the  four  above  noted,  and  tracing  each  back  to  its 
source,  we  find  that  the  common  house  or  milk  snake, 
Ophibolus  doliatas  trianc/ulus  (Boie),  while  crawling, 
occasionally  raises  the  middle  of  its  body  above  the 
ground,  as  does  the  measuring  or  loop  worm,  and  this 
fact  gave  rise  to  the  story  of  the  "hoop  snake." 

The  "glass  snake"  is  a  lizard,  Ophisaurus  ventralis 
(L.),  which-,  like  other  reptiles  of  that  class,  chooses  at 
times  when  captured  by  the  tail,  to  drop  that  portion 
of  the  body  rather  than  remain  a  captive;  but,  as  to 
coupling  it  on  again,  no  person  with  any  regard  for 
the  truth  will  swear  he  ever  saw  it  done. 


SNAKES.  29 

No  black  snake  over  six  feet  and  a  few  inches  long 
has  as  yet  heen  recorded  in  any  scientific  work. 
Twice  within  the  past  five  years  black  snakes,  kept  in 
captivity  by  the  writer,  have  escaped,  and  were  killed 
shortly  afterwards  near  the  center  of  the  city.  On 
both  occasions  the  daily  papers  noted  the  killing  but 
in  each  instance,  if  we  take  the  newspaper  measure- 
ment as  correct,  the  snake  had  increased  in  length 
nearly  a  foot  and  a  half  during  the  twenty-four  hours 
intervening  between  its  escape  and  death. 

As  for  the  spreading  viper,  although  it  is  true  that 
it  flattens  its  body  and  hisses  when  approached,  yet 
its  bite  is  perfectly  harmless  as  it  is  destitute  of  poison 
fangs  ;  and  its  colors  are  as  unchangeable  and  its  breath 
as  unproductive  of  disease  as  are  those  of  the  leading 
gander  of  the  barnyard  flock  which  hisses  when  we 
approach  his  domain. 

The  best  way  to  show  the  falsity  of  many  of  the 
beliefs  concerning  the  harmfulness  of  snakes  is  to  re- 
cord a  few  facts  concerning  the  life  history  and  habits 
of  some  of  the  more  common  species  inhabiting  In- 
diana. To  begin,  we  will  say  that  the 'usual  belief 
that  all  snakes  are  hatched  from  eggs  is  an  erroneous 
one.  Many  species,  examples  of  which  are  the  cop- 
perhead, rattle-snake  and  three  or  four  kinds  of  gar- 
ter-snakes, bring  forth  their  young  alive.  The  young 
of  snakes,  except  in  size  and  sometimes  in  color,  re- 
semble their  parents  and  do  not  undergo  a  change  or 
metamorphosis,  as  do  the  tadpoles,  or  young  of  frogs 
and  salamanders.  Those  snakes  which  lay  eggs  de- 
posit them  in  the  earth,  sand,  or  the  humus  of  rot- 
ten logs,  where  they  are  left  to  be  hatched  by  the 


30  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

moist  heat  of  their  surroundings.    These  eggs  are  yel- 
lowish white  in  color,  and  vary  in  size  from  Jxf  inches 
up  to  that  of  a  pigeon's  egg.     They 

e     oung      are  usually  elliptical  in  form  and  have 
of  Snakes.  . 

a  tough  leathery  skin.     I  he  number 

varies  with  the  different  species,  some  laying  as  many 
as  twenty  at  a  time.  The  mother  snake  sometimes 
remains  in  the  vicinity  of  the  eggs  until  they  are 
hatched.  The  young  then  accompany  the  mother  for 
a  time,  and  of  certain  species,  it  has  been  affirmed, 
that  in  time  of  danger  the  young  escape  down  the 
throat  of  the  mother.  Of  most  snakes,  however,  the 
young,  when  hatched  or  born,  are  left  to  shift  for  them- 
selves, and  possibly  not  more  than  one  in  a  hundred 
lives  to  be  a  year  old,  as  they  have  many  enemies 
among  the  other  animals — even  among  their  own  kin. 

If  a  snake  be  carefully  examined  many  interesting 
facts  concerning  the  structure  of  its  body  may  be  noted. 
Their  long,  slender,  limbless  forms  are,  on  the  upper> 
side,  covered  with  scales  which  overlap  one  another 
like  the  shingles  on  a  roof.  On  the  under  side  these 
scales  are  much  larger  and  form  a  series  of  broad,  over- 
lapping plates  which  extend  the  full  length  of  the  body. 
These  are  technically  known  as  ventral  plates  or  scutes. 

Many  a  person    has,  perhaps,   wondered    how    an 
animal  without  limbs,  wings  or  fins  can  move  so  rap- 
idly and  gracefully  as  does  a  snake. 
The  Structure    -g    examinin^  carefully  a  snake's  skel- 

of  a  Snake.         J 

eton  and  noting  its  relation  to  these 

ventral  plates  one  can  easily  understand  how  the 
movement  is  made.  .The  skeleton  consists  merely  of 
the  skull,  spinal  column  and  ribs, 


SNAKES. 


31 


A  pair  of  ribs  extend  downward  from  each  vertebra 
of  the  spinal  column,  and  to  the  lower  ends  of  these 
ribs  a  ventral  plate  is 
attached  by  muscles. 
The  snake  then  moves 
its  ribs  much  as  a  mil- 
lipede or  "  thousand- 
legged  worm  "  moves 
its  legs.  The  edges  of 
a  few  of  the  ventral 
plates  catch  against 
any  roughness  on  the 
surface  over  which  the 
snake  is  crawling,  and 
hold  that  part  of  the 
body  while  another 
part  advances.  Put  a 
snake  onto  a  smooth 
surface  as  ice  or  a  pol- 
ished floor  and  it  will 
move  with  much  diffi- 
culty, if  at  all.  Hence, 
we  see,  that  a  snake  in 
reality  walks  with  its 
ribs. 

The  skin  of  a  snake, 
scales,  plates  and  every- 
thing, is  shed  several 
times  a  year.  *The  first 
moult  of  the  season  usu- 
ally takes  place  in  the  Fig.5— Skeleton  of  a  Snake. 

early  spring,  soon  after  the  snake  regains  activity ; 


32  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

a  second  occurs  in  June  or  July,  and  often  a  third 
in  late  summer  or  early  autumn.  One  can  always 
tell  when  the  moulting  is  about  to  take  place  by  the 
color  of  the  snake  becoming  very  dull  and  an  ap- 
parent whitish  film  appearing  over  the  eyes  In  fact 
the  snake  seems  to  be  going  blind.  The  skin  is  shed 
as  a  whole,  a  rent  appearing  on  the  back,  and  first 
one  end  of  the  body  and  then  the  other  being  pulled 
out  of  the  old  garment.  Even  the  cornea,  or  outer 
surface  of  the  eye,  and  the  skin  of  the  lips  are  shed. 
The  new  skin  is  very  bright  and  showy  and  the  snake 
is  evidently  proud  of  it,  appearing  much  more  lively 
after  moulting  than  before.  New  skins  are  con- 
stantly being  formed  beneath  old  ones  and  the  reptile 
must  keep  one  or  two  on  hands  for  an  emergency,  as 
the  writer  has  by  dissection  found  three  skins  on  one 
snake. 

Many  persons  are  needlessly  frightened  when  a  snake 
darts  out  its  tongue  at  them.  The  tongue  is  nothing 
but  a  thread-like  muscle  forked  or  divided  for  about 
one-third  of  its  length.  It  lies  on  the  middle  of  the 
lower  jaw  and  when  at  rest  is  covered  with  a  sheath- 
like  membrane.  Soft  and  elastic  in  structure,  it  is 
capable  of  being  darted  back  and  forth  very  rapidly. 
Although  the  tongue  is  perfectly  harmless  the  snake, 
during  past  generations,  seems  to  have  learned  that 
man  and  some  other  animals  are  afraid  of  it,  and  so, 
when  irritated  or  molested,  darts  it  in  and  out  as  a 
means  of  defense. 

Snakes  have  no  outer  ears  and  no  eyelids.  To  the 
latter  fact  is  due  the  "cold  stony  glare  of  the  serpent  " 
Their  jaw  bones  or  mandibles  are  held  together  only 


SNAKES.  33 

by  ligaments.  This  enables  them  to  open  the  mouth 
very  widely  and  to  swallow  animals  much  larger  in 
diameter  than  themselves.  They  swallow  all  food 
whole  without  mastication.  In  this  they  are  aided 
by  a  copious  flow  of  saliva  which  lubricates  their 
prey,  and  causes  it  to  pass  into  the  stomach  more 
readily.  Whenever  they  catch  a  frog  or  other  animal 
with  limbs  they  manipulate  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
enable  them  to  swallow  it  head  first.  The  limbs  of 
the  victim  are  thus  pressed  close  to  its  body  and  the 
act  of  swallowing  is  but  little  hindered  by  their 
presence. 

Snakes  are  "coldblooded"  animals;  i.  e.,  their 
bodily  temperature  is  not  constant  like  that  of  man, 
but  varies  with  the  temperature  of  the  air  which  they 
breathe.  On  that  account  they  become  sluggish  in 
late  autumn,  and,  seeking  a  crevice  in  a  rock  or  hole 
in  the  ground,  they  crawl  into  it  and  remain  through- 
out the  winter,  eating  nothi  ng  and  moving  not.  Large 
numbers  sometimes  find  their  way  to  the  same  place 

and  are  often  found  coiled  and  twisted 
Hibernation  ,,         xl  ...  . 

of  Snakes       together,  thus  giving  rise  to  the  many 

stories  of  so-called  "snake  dens."  If 
the  winter  be  an  open  one  this  hibernation,  as  it  is 
called,  is  often  interrupted  and  the  animal  comes  forth 
from  its  retreat  on  some  warm  sunny  day,  thinking, 
no  doubt,  that  spring  has  come  again.  During  an 
excessive  thaw  the  high  water  often  finds  its  way  into 
the  snake's  resting  place  and  many  are  doubtless 
drowned  while  still  torpid.  Others  escape  and  make 
their  way  to  a  higher  and  drier  spot.  Thus  on  Jan- 
uary 11,  1890,  the  writer  found  two  species  of  garter 

•     3 


34  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

snakes  beneath  some  fine  driftwood,  near  the  margin 
of  the  overflowed  bottoms,  north  of  Terre  Haute. 
They  had  been  driven  forth  from  their  winter  retreat 
by  the  high  waters  and  had  taken  temporary  refuge 
beneath  the  drift. 

On  the  first  warm  days  of  spring  the  sluggish  blood 
in  the  veins  of  the  hibernating  snakes  begins  to  flow 
more  rapidly.  Their  bodily  temperature  gradually 
rises.  Demand  for  food  and  an  irresistible  desire  to 
mingle  with  others  of  their  kind  soon  cause  them  to 
move  out  and  stretch  their  bodies  in  the  warm  sun- 
shine and  in  a  few  weeks  their  summer  haunts  know 
them  as  of  yore. 

The  food  of  snakes  is  often  the  subject  of  much 
conjecture  among  those  persons  who  know  the  reptiles 
only  from  an  occasional  chance  meeting 
Snakes  with  them.  For  example,  some  peo- 
ple accept  literally  the  biblical  state- 
ment that  they  live  upon  dust,  as  the  following  inquiry 
received  by  the  writer  will  attest:  "Is  it  necessary 
that  snakes  have  plenty  of  earth  (or  dust)  to  eat  to 
keep  them  alive?  A  friend  of  mine  thinks  that 
snakes  live  largely  on  dust  (or  earth)  but  I  do  not 
think  so.  Which  is  right?  The  .dispute  came  up  in 
our  young  men's  bible  class  on  the  reading  of  the  fol- 
lowing verse  :  £And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  ser- 
pent, because  thou  hast  done  this,  thou  art  cursed  above 
all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field.  Upon 
thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the 
days  of  thy  life:'  Genesis  iii. — 14." 

Like  other  cold  blooded  animals  snakes  can  fast  for 
a  long  time.  In  fact,  in  captivity,  they  have  IXH-II 


SNAKES.  35 

known  to  eat  nothing  for  over  a  year  although  food 
was  frequently  offered  them.  They  need  water,  how- 
ever, especially  as  their  moulting  time  draws  near. 
What  they  eat  depends  to  a  great  extent  upon  the 
species,  some  preferring  one  kind  of  food,  some 
another.  Like  most  men  they  are  not  fond  of  "  cold 
victuals"  but  prefer  to  capture  their  prey  alive.  Frogs, 
tadpoles,  small  fish,  young  birds,  field  mice,  rats  and 
especially  insects  and  their  larvae,  are  their  favorite 
foods.  When  they  take  a  notion  to  eat  they  believe 
in  "gittin'  a  plenty  while  they're  gittin,' "  provided 
they  have  a  chance.  Thus,  no  less  than  seven  large 
leopard  frogs,  besides  a  mass  of  other  material,  were 
once  found  in  the  stomach  of  a  common  water  snake, 
Tropidonotis  sipedon  (L.),  which  was  dissected  by  the 
writer  on  account  of  its  aldermanic  appearance. 

Many  snakes  have  also  cannibalistic  tendencies,  so 
that  the  accompanying  illustrated  "  snake  lie"  has  that 
much  for  a  basis. 

Two  instances  of  a  snake's  cannibalism  have  come 
to  the  personal  notice  of  the  writer.  •  Once,  while 
engaged  in  tracing  a  geological  outcrop  in  the  wilcl^ 
of  Arkansas,  he  saw  the  top  of  a  small  bush  shaking 
gently  to  and  fro.  Investigating  the  cause  of  the' 
movement  he  found  a  half  grown  black  snake  with  a 
specimen  of  the  summer  green  .  snake,  Cydophis 
•cestivus  (L.),  partially  swallowed.  The  green  snake 
had  been  caught  by  the  head  and  while  endeavoring 
to  escape  had  wrapped  its  tail  in  a  double  coil  about 
the  bush.  The  black  snake  had  to  suspend  operations 
when  he  had  swallowed  up  to  the  bush,  and  was  evi- 
dently awaiting  the  digestion  of  the  part  within  his 


36 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


body  when  discovered.     This,  no  doubt,  sounds  like 
one  of  the  "  snake  lies  "  referred  to  above,  but  the 

green  snake,  with  the 
mark  of  the  black  one's 
teeth  upon  its  body,  was 
preserved  in  alcohol, 
and  is  yet  in  the  writer's 
collection. 

In  the  second  in- 
stance a  pupil  brought 
in  a  king  snake,  Ophi- 
bolus  getulus  sayi  (Hoi- 
brook),  12  inches  in 
length,  which  had  pro- 
truding from  its  mouth 
four  inches  of  the  tail 
of  a  common  garter 
snake,  Eutainia  sirtalis 
(L.).  The  latter  was  13 
inches  in  length  and 
the  front  nine  inches  of 
its  body  was  within 
that  of  its  captor.  When 

(taken  the  kinsr  snake 
MKtt/tfl  iffiyfl  tried  to  disgorge  its 
\mm  WM«  prey  but  his  fartership 

was  too  deeply  lodged. 
The  two  were  quickly 
**          consigned   to   a   bottle 

Fig.  6-An  Illustrated  "  Snake  Lie."          of  alco}lo]  there  to  gerve 

as  a  forcible  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  king  snake 
is  in  reality  both  a  king  and  a  cannibal  among  its  kind. 


SNAKES.  37 

On  account  of  their  liking  for  field  mice,  insects 
and  other  vermin,  each  black  snake  on  a  farm  is  worth 
at  least  five  dollars,  and  each  garter  snake  one  dollar, 
every  year  of  its  existence.  In  other  words  the  dam- 
age which  the  mice,  insects,  etc.,  eaten  hy  the  snakes, 
would  do,  would  amount  to  more  than  the  sums  men- 
tioned. Both  black  and  garter  snakes  are  perfectly 
harmless,  and  yet  as  soon  as  one  is  seen  eight  farm 
boys  out  of  ten,  and  almost  as  large  a  proportion  of 
the  farmers  themselves,  will  procure  a  long  club  or  a 
stone  and  mash  the  poor,  defenseless  snake's  head  to 
a  jelly.  Then  if  the  snake  be  a  large  one,  the  exploit 
is  bragged  of  all  over  the  neighborhood.  In  the 
writer's  opinion  such  an  act  is  a  cold  blooded  murder 
and  the  deed  of  a  coward.  As  well  might  a  giant 
brag  of  killing  a  dwarf  as  a  man  of  killing  a  harmless 
and  defenseless  snake. 

But  few  of  the  harmless  snakes  use  their  teeth  as 
their  chief  means  of  defense.  It  is  only  when  irritated 
or  suddenly  attacked  that  they  will  strike  at  a  person, 
and  the  pain  caused  by  their  bite  is  no  more  severe 
than  that  produced  by  the  bite  of  a  mouse  or  the  prick 
of  a  pin;  the  most  serious  result  of  the  bite  being 
usually  the  fright  which  timid  persons  sustain.  Once 
in  a  great  while,  however,  the  bite  of  a  harmless  snake 
may  cause  a  swelling  of  the  organ  bitten,  and,  one 
time  in  a  thousand,  may  even  cause  death.  This  is 
due,  however,  not  to  any  venom  injected  into  the 
wound,  but  to  a  kind  of  blood  poisoning  brought 
about  by  some  substance  adhering  to  the  teeth  of  the 
reptile,  the  victim  being  in  a  weakened  physical  con- 
dition and  therefore  very  susceptible  to  such  a  result. 


38  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

The  bite  of  a  mosquito  has  been  known  to  prove  fatal 
under  similar  conditions. 

Their  other  means  of  defense  and  protection  against 

their  enemies  are,  however,  numerous  and  interesting 

to  note.     Almost  all  of  them  dart  out 

Met  ods  o  ^.|ie  ton~ue  when  approached,  seeking1 
Defense  Used  .' 

by  Snakes.  thus  ^°  terrify  into  retreat  the  aggres- 
sor. In  this  they  are  often  successful, 
especially  with  mankind.  Most  other  animals  seem  to 
know  that  the  tongue  is  harmless  and  pay  no  attention 
to  it.  Some  snakes,  when  molested,  enlarge  the  body 
and  so  render  themselves  as  formidable  in  appearance 
as  possible.  They  do  this,  either  by  inflating  with  air 
to  their  fullest  capacity,  the  long  slender  lungs,  as  does 
the  spreading  viper,  whence  the  name  "puffing  adder" 
sometimes  applied  to  it ;  or  by  flattening  the  body,  by 
spreading  out  the  ribs  and  then  raising  the  scales,  as 
does  the  common  garter  snake  and  the  spreading 
viper.  Certain  species,  when  disturbed,  force  the  air 
from  their  lungs  with  a  hissing  sound.  This  noise, 
no  doubt,  serves  to  frighten  some  of  their  enemies, 
but  the  expelled  air  is,  in  itself,  wholly  harmless. 

A  number  of  the  larger  snakes,  among  them  the 
black  snake,  pilot  snake,  house  snake  and  spreading 
viper,  when  alarmed,  often  try  to  imitate  the  peculiar 
rattle  of  the  rattle-snake  by  vibrating  the  tail  with 
great  rapidity.  If  the  vibrating  tail  happens  to  strike 
against  some  dead  leaves  the  sound  is  very  similar  to 
that  produced  by  the  rattle-snake,  and  the  writer,  on 
hearing  it,  has  frequently  leaped  back  from  a  harm- 
less snake  thinking  that  he  had  been  deceived  as  to 
the  reptile  before  him. 


SNAKES.  39 

Ko  snake  can,  like  the  tree  frog  and  the  chameleon, 
change  its  colors  to  suit  its  surroundings ;  but  many, 
during  the  summer  time,  frequent  such  places  as 
accord  most  closely  with  their  own  hues.  In  this 
manner  they  not  only  lessen  the  chances  of  discovery 
by  their  enemies,  but  also  increase  their  opportunities 
of  obtaining  food,  as  other  animals,  not  perceiving 
them,  will  approach  within  striking  distance.  Thus, 
green  snakes  climb  bushes  and  recline  for  hours  on 
the  slender  branches  among  the  leaves,  waiting  for 
insects  and  small  birds  to  approach ;  and  several  of 
the  smaller  brown  snakes  remain  for  the  most  time 
among  the  dead  leaves  and  grass,  about  logs  and  the 
roots  of  trees. 

A  few  species,  as  the  common  garter  snake  and  the 
spotted  water  snake,  excrete  a  disgusting  odor  wThen 
handled  and  this  no  doubt  serves  to  protect  them  from 
many  enemies.  Still  others,  when  disturbed  in  their 
dreams  on  a  bright  spring  morning,  feign  death  or 
"play  possum"  as  it  is  popularly  put,  remaining  rigid 
and  motionless  as  long  as  one  stays  in  their  vicinity, 
but  seeking  safety  in  flight  as  soon  as  they  think 
themselves  unnoticed.  The  above  are  a  few  of  the 
many  ways  in  which  these  reptiles  seek  to  exercise 
their  natural  right  of  defending  themselves.  No  one 
of  the  methods  noticed  is  in  the  least  degree  harmful 
to  man,  and  even  if  so,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
whatever  a  non-venomous  snake  does  is  in  self  defense, 
as  it  is  never  the  attacking  party. 


40  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

II.— THE  SNAKES  OF  INDIANA  IN  PAKTICULAR 

About  sixty  species  of  snakes  inhabit  that  portion 
of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
Of  these  the  bite  of  but  six  is  poisonous.  Twenty- 
nine  species  and  ten  varieties  are  known  to  occur 
within  the  State  of  Indiana.  Of  these,  four  are 
poisonous,  all  the  rest  being  perfectly  harmless  as  far 
as  the  bite  is  concerned. 

POISONOUS    SNAKES. 

With  one  exception  the  poisonous  snakes  of  the 
State  may  be  known  from  the  harmless  ones  by  the 
following  characters.  The  head  is  broader  than  the 
body,  flat  and  triangular,  and  has  a  deep  pit  on  each 
side  between  the  eye  and  the  nostril,  whence  the  name 
"Pit  Vipers"  which  is  sometimes  given  to  the  group. 
There  are  no  solid  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw,  but  on  each 
side  in  front  is  a  hollow  poison  fang  which  can  be 
depressed  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth  or  erected  at 
will.  The  canal  in  this  fang  connects  with  a  duct  or 
tube  which  leads  to  a  poison  gland  on  the  upper  side 
of  the  head.  The  poisonous  liquid  is  separated  from 
the  blood  by  this  gland  and,  when  the  serpent  strikes, 
from  four  to  six  drops  of  it  are  injected  through  the 
duct  and  fang  into  the  wound. 

The  liquid  itself  is  tasteless,  green  to  orange  in  color, 
and  about  ten  times  as  heavy  as  water.  Freezing, 
boiling,  drying  or  treatment  with  alcohol  does  not 
affect  its  virulence.  In  man,  as  in  most  other  animals, 
the  poison  causes  great  nervous  prostration,  lessens 
the  number  of  heart  beats  per  minute,  and  produces 


SNAKES.  41 

something  akin  to  blood  poisoning.  The  best  anti- 
dote, as  well  known,  is  alcohol  taken  inwardly  in  the 
form  of  whisky  or  brandy.  This  acts  as  a  stimulant, 
bracing  up  the  system  and  enabling  it  to  withstand 
the  depressing  effects  of  the  poison.  When  properly 
attended  to  not  more  than  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
bites  of  our  poisonous  snakes  result  fatally. 


Fig.  7— Head  of  Rattle-snake,  showing  Venom  Gland  and  Muscles. 

a,  venom  gland;  a',  venom  duct; /,  sheath  of  fang;  I,  c,  d,  g  and  h,  muscles; 

i  andy,  salivary  glands. 

Hogs  are  seldom  poisoned  when  bitten  by  a  rattle- 
snake or  copper-head,  as  their  fatty  tissue  absorbs  the 
poison  and  prevents  it  from  entering  the  circulation. 
Other  animals  usually  die  from  the  effects  of  the  bite, 
even  the  snake  itself  succumbing  to  its  own  venom 
when  it  accidentally  wounds  itself.  In  other  words, 
the  poison  is  a  liquid  secreted  from  the  blood,  which 
becomes  fatal  on  being  introduced  back  into  the  very 
same  source. 

Of  the  three  "pit-vipers"  occurring  in  Indiana,  the 
copper-head,  Agkistrodon  contortrix  (L.),  is  readily  dis- 


42  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

tinguished  from   the   other  two   by  .having  its  tail 
devoid  of  a  rattle  and  ending  in  a  horny  point.     Sev- 
eral species  of  harmless  snakes  are, 
however,  in  many  localities  known  as 
Fig.  s— Tail  end  of     "  copper-heads"   and    are,   therefore, 
Copper-head.        shunned    as    venomous.     The    most 
common  of  these  is  the  spreading  viper  or  hog-nose 
snake,  which  has  a  flat,  triangular  head,  but  which 
lacks  the  "pit"  between  the  eye  and  the  nostril  and 
also  the  hollow  poison  fangs.    Another 

marked  difference  is  seen  on  the  under 
Copper=nead. 

.  side  of  the  tail  where  the  plates  or 
scutes  are,  in  the  copper-head,  mostly  undivided, 
whereas  in  the  spreading  viper  they  are  divided  on 
the  middle  line.  In  color  the  copper-head  is  a  chest- 


Fig.  9— Under  side  of  tail  of  Southern  Water-moccasin,  a  poisonous  snake/" 
(After  Stejneger.) 

nut  or  hazel-brown,  with  numerous  darker  Y-shaped 
blotches  along  the  back.  Its  head  is  a  coppery-red, 
whence  the  common  name.  It  seldom,  if  ever,  ex- 
ceeds three  feet  in  length,  and  its  poison  is  less  virulent 
than  that  of  either  of  the  rattle-snakes.  On  the  other 
hand  it  is  more  justly  feared  than  they,  since  it  gives 
no  warning  of  an  attack  but  strikes  viciously  and 
repeatedly  at  whatever  disturbs  its  repose. 

*The  Copper-head  has  similar  undivided  plates. 


IV. 


SNAKES,  43 

The  copper-head  frequents  for  the  most  part  rocky 
hillsides,  especially  those  covered  with  timber  and 
in  the  vicinity 
of  water.  Its 
young  are  horn 
alive,  and  are 
few,  seven  to 

nine      in     HUm-    Fig.  10— Head  of  Copper-head,  shown  from  top  and 

side.    (After  Baird.) 

her.      In    the 

early  settlement  of  Indiana  it  was  common  in  the 
southern  half  of  the  State,  hut  at  present  one  hears 
only  of  an  occasional  specimen ;  the  most  of  those 
which  are  reputed  as  copper-heads,  being  found,  upon 
examination,  to  be  examples  of  some  harmless  species. 
The  banded  or  timber  rattle-snake,  Crotalus  homdus 
L.,  reaches  a  length  of  six  feet,*  and  a  diameter  of 
several  inches.  From  the  prairie  rattle-snake  it  may 
be  readily  known  by  its  having  the  top 
of  the  head  covered  with  numerous 
Rattle-snake  sca^es  instead  of  bony  plates.  In  color 
it  is  yellowish  brown  with  three  rows 
of  dark  blotches,  about  twenty-one  in  each  row,  along 
the  back  between  the  head  and  the  tail,  the  latter,  in 
full  grown  specimens,  being  entirely  black. 

The  rattle  of  this  and  allied  species  is  composed  of 
a  series  of  flattened,  horny  rings  joined  rather  loosely 
together,  the  terminal  one,  called  "the  button,"  being 
narrower  than  the  others.  The  common  belief  that 
the- age  of  the  snake  can  be  told  by  the  number  of 

*A  specimen  in  the  State  Museum  from  Arkansas  measures  six  feet  four 
inches,  and  its  rattle  is  composed  of  thirteen  rings  and  a  button.  Another 
from  Clay  County,  Indiana,  is  five  feet  four  inches  in  length  and  possesses 
eighteen  rings  and  a  button. 


44 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


joints  in  the  rattle  is  entirely  erroneous,  as  many  as 
four  of  the  rings  having  been  known  to  develop  in  a 
single  year.  Concerning  this  point  Dr.  L.  Stejneger, 

the  leading  American 
authority  on  poisonous 
snakes,  after  mention- 
ing the  difficulty  in 
overcoming  the  fallacy 
that  "  each  ring  on  a 
rattle-snake  represents 
a  year  of  its  life,"  says  : 
"  It  ought  not  to  be  dif- 
ficult to  make  people 
understand  that  the 
rattle  is  a  delicate  in- 
strument which  easily 
breaks;  tfyat  old  and  huge  rattlers  are  often  found 
with  but  one  or  a  few  rings;  that  a  variable  number 
of  joints  are  added  each  year,  and  that  the  production 
of  a  ring  can  be  accomplished  in  the  course  of  every 
two  or  three  months." 

In  what  mariner  has  so  unique  an  organ  as  the  rat- 
tle developed  ?     For  what  purpose  is  it  used  by  the 


Fig.  11 — Head  of  Banded  Rattle-snake, 
shown  from  top  and  side.  (After  Baird.) 


g          f        e         d       c      b      a 
Fig.  12— Separate  joints  of  rattle  of  Banded  Rattle-snake, 
a,  button;  h,  basal  joint. 

snake?  These  are  questions  which  have  been  much 
discussed  but  are,  as  yet,  unsolved.  Some  have  likened 
the  sound  produced  by  the  rattle  to  that  made  by  the 


§ 


SNAKES.  45 

harvest-fly,  Cicada  tibicen  L.,  or  by  certain  species  of 
grasshoppers,  and  have  thought  that  the  noise  was 
made  to  "  decoy  insect  eating  birds  into  the  range  of 
the  serpent's  spring."  Others  have  claimed  that  it 
was  a  love  call  used  in  bringing  the  sexes  together. 
Still  others  have  looked  upon  it  as  a  "  providential 
arrangement  to  prevent  injury  to  innocent  animals 


Fig.  13— Rattle  of  Banded  Rattle-snake,  (After  Garman.) 

and  man."  The  most  commonly  accepted  theory  at 
present  is  that  it  is  used  by  the  snake  as  a  "  means  of 
self-protection,  serving  the  same  purpose  as  the  growl 
of  a  tiger  when  threatened  with  danger.  The  snake 
seldom  sounds  its  rattle  until  it  considers  itself  discov- 
ered, and  not  then  unless  it  apprehends  danger.  It 
throws  itself  in  position  to  strike  and  says  in  unmis- 
takable language:  'Look  out  for  yourself,.  I  am  ready 
for  you.  Your  life,  if  you  injure  me.'  If  pushed 
upon  it  makes  its  leap  at  its  antagonist,  and  again 
throws  itself  in  position  to  renew  the  conflict,  once 
again  sounding  the  note  of  defiance."*  In  making 
its  warning  note  the  snake  doubtless  frightens  away 
many  enemies  which  by  experience  have  learned  to 
shun  its  presence.  In  this  way  it  saves  its  venom,  foi 
the  use  for  which  it  is  most  evidently  secreted-  -that 
of  quickly  destroying  or  rendering  helpless  those 
forms  of  life  which  the  reptile  needs  for  food. 

*  Henderson,  J.  G.,  American  Naturalist,  VI.,  1872,  261, 


46  GLEANINGS  FROM  NA  TUBE. 

The  young  of  the  timber  rattle-snake  are  born  alive. 
They  are  seldom,  if  ever,  more  than  nine  in  number, 
arid  average  at  birth  about  eight  inches  in  length.  Its 
food,  in  a  state  of  nature,  consists  of  rabbits,  squirrels, 
mice,  and  frogs,  with  an  occasional  bird,  or  harmless 
snake  to  vary  the  menu.  It  usually  lies  in  wait  for 
its  prey,  and  when  the  latter  comes  in  reach  it  strikes 
at  it  with  such  rapidity  that  the  motion  can  scarcely 
be  followed.  Unless  disturbed  it  ignores  the  presence 
of  man  or  of  such  animals  as  it  does  not  wish  for  food, 
and  never  follows  such  intruders  with  the  intention  of 
attacking  them. 

Like  the  copper-head,  the  timber  rattle-snake  was 
once  rather  common  in  southern  Indiana,  and  doubt- 
less occurred  in  small  numbers  in  the  northern  half 
of  the  State.  At  present  it  is  known  to  occur  only  in 
the  broken,  wooded  portions  of  such  counties  as 
Brown,  Monroe,  and  Greene,  where  there  are  many 
ledges  of  stone,  on  which,  in  summer,  it  can  bask  for 
hours  in  the  sunlight,  and  in  whose  crevices  it  can 
find  in  winter  a  suitable  abiding  place.  But  here, 
even,  its  numbers  have  become  so  few  that  the  killing 
of  one  is  thought  to  be  of  sufficient  importance  for  a 
notice  in  the  local  newspaper,  usually  with  a  foot  or 
two  of  length  added  to  the  specimen. 

The  prairie  rattle-snake  or  massasauga,  Sistrurus 
catenatus  (Rafinesque),  is,  in  general,  smaller  than  the 

timber  rattle-snake,  seldom  exceeding 
The  Prairie      three  feet  -n  j        th      The  t        of  the 

lvtlLtIC=SIlciKC.  '~J  •    i      i 

head  is  partially  covered  with  horn- 
like shields  or  plates,  similar  to  those  of  the  harmless 
snakes.  Its  color  is  brown  or  blackish  with  seven  rows 


v  SNAKES.  47 

of  darker  blotches,  34  in  each  row,  between  the  head 
and  tail.  Those  specimens  living  in  swamps  and 
marshy  places  are  often  a  uniform  black  in  color. 

In  the  wet  prairies  and  marshes  of  northern  Indiana 
the  massasauga  is  yet  found  in  small  numbers,  but  is 
nowhere  so  abundant  as  it  was 
a  score,  of  years  ago.  No 
record  of  specimens  taken  in 
the  State  south  of  the  National 
Road  has  come  to  the  writer's 
notice. 

Aside  from  its  poisonous 
qualities,  its  habits  are  bene- 
ficial, as  it  feeds  upon  field 
mice  and  insects,  and  thus  aidsFig .14_ 


keeping  in  check  those  pestS.         snake,  shown  from  top  and 
T,      i  •,      •  .  -.          n  T    T  side.    (After  Stejneger.) 

Its  bite  is  considered  much  less 

venomous  than  that  of  the  timber  rattle-snake,  one 
observer  having  asserted  that  it  is  scarcely  more  to 
be  dreaded  than  the  sting  of  a  hornet.  This  might 
be  true  if  the  person  bitten  were  so  situated  that  im- 
mediate medical  assistance  could  be  obtained,  but  for 
persons  living  on  a  farm  at  some  distance  from  a 
physician,  the  bite  is  always  to  be  regarded  as 
serious.  'The  degree  of  danger  from  the  bite  of 
any  of  the  poisonous  snakes  depends  chiefly  upon 
the  size  of  the  reptile,  the  amount  of  venom  injected 
and  the  location  of  the  wounded  part,  The  larger 
the  snake,  the  more  venom  it  exudes  and  the  deeper 
the  fangs  are  driven  into  the  body  of  the  victim. 
If  the  wound  is  in  such  a  part  of  the  body  that  the 
poison  is  injected  directly  into  the  circulation  the 


48  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

chances  for  recovery  are  small,  no  matter  if  the 
promptest  of  medical  attention  is  obtained.  Happily, 
such  a  bite  does  not  often  occur. 

The  fourth  and  last  species  of  poisonous  reptiles 
occurring  in  Indiana  is  the  coral  or  bead  Bn&k^JSlaps 
fulvius  (L.).     Unlike  the  "pit  vipers,"  its  head  is  but 
slightly  distinct  from  the  body.     It  lacks  the  pit  be- 
tween  the .  eye   and   nostril,  and   the 
The  Coral  or          .  f  >  Ai  •          • 

Bead  Snake.     Polson  tan£  °*  tlie  upper  jaw  is  per- 
manently erect  instead  of  movable  at 
will.     It  is  one  of  the  most  handsome  of  American 
snakes,  being  possessed  of  a  slender  body  which  is 
encircled  by  alternate  bands  of  jet 
black    and   bright    red,   the    latter 
color  merging  into  yellow  near  the 
edges  of  the  bands.     The  front  por- 
tion of  the  head  is  black,  while  the 
hind  portion  is  encircled  by  a  band 
Fig.  is-Head  of  Coral  of  bright  yellow.     The  total  length 

Snake,   shown     from     .  °         * 

top  and  side.    (After    IS  leSS  than  2J  feet. 

Bairdl)  In  the  southern   States  the  bead 

snake  is  rather  common  and  the  extreme  northern 
limit  of  its  range  is  probably  the  southern  half  of  In- 
diana and  Ohio.  In  this  State,  but  a  single  specimen, 
taken  near  Milan,  Ripley  County,  has  been  recorded. 
Of  its  food  habits  but  little  is  known,  but  that  little 
goes  to  show  that  it  is  a  cannibal,  eating  harmless 
snakes  with  evident  gusto,  since  Dr.  Stejneger  records 
one  as  having  swallowed  a  black  snake  as  long  as 
itself,  before  it  had  fully  digested  a  garter  snake  taken 
at  a  previous  meal.  Much  discussion  has  taken  place 
concerning  the  ability  of  the  coral  snake  to  inflict  dan- 


SNAKES.  49 

gerous  bites.  There  is  little  doubt,  however,  but  that 
it  injects  a  true  poison  which  sometimes  causes  fatal 
results,  but  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  the  serpent's 
mouth  and  the  shortness  of  its  poison  fangs,  the  wound 
must  be  inflicted  on  the  more  exposed  portions  of  the 
body,  as  the  fingers  or  toes.  It  is  hoped  that  persons 
in  the  southern  half  of  Indiana  will,  in  the  future,  be 
on  the  lookout  for  this  snake,  that  a  more  definite 
account  of  its  range  in  the  State  may  be  put  on 
record. 

HARMLESS     SNAKES. 

For  convenience  the  twenty-five  species  of  harm- 
less snakes  known  to  occur  in  Indiana  may  be  classed 
aiM-ording  to  color,  habits,  etc.,  into  seven  groups. 
Three  of  the  reptiles  are  seldom  found  far  from  ponds 
or  streams,  and  hence  may  form 

Group  I.— The  Water  Snakes. 

Two  of  these  are  quite  similar  in  habits  and  ap- 
pearance, the  ground  color  varying  from  ashy  to 
brown,  with  a  row  of  thirty  or  more  darker  spots  on 
the  back  between  the  head  and  tail,  and  a  row  of 
smaller,  similar  spo.ts  on  each  side.  Scientists  distin- 
guish them,  however,  by  the  difference  in  the  number 
of  rows  of  scales  on  the  back,  giving  to  the  rarer  one, 
which  has  27  rows,  the  name  of  u  diamond  water 
snake." 

The  other  one,  which  has  but  23,  rarely  25,  rows,  is 
Tropidonotws  *>i>«l<>,<  (L.),  one  of  our  most  common 
snakes  and  popularly  known  as  the  "  water  snake," 
4 


50  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

"  spotted  water  snake  "  and  "  water  moccasin."  About 
the  larger  ponds  and  streams,  especially  those  of 
southern  Indiana,  it  grows  to  a  large  size,  reaching  a 
diameter  of  three  inches  and  a  length  of  five  feet; 
but  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  State 
specimens  more  than  four  feet  long  are  seldom  seen. 
It  is  usually  given  a  wide  berth,  as  seven  people  out 
of  ten  believe  that  its  bite  will  cause  certain  death. 
This  belief  is  no  doubt  caused  by  the  fact  that  the 

"  water  moccasin  "  or  "  cotton  mouth  " 
The  Spotted        e  ,, 
Water  Snake  southern  orates  is  a  poisonous 

snake,  and  the  common  names  of  the 
two  have  become. confounded.     Our  water  moccasin 


Fig.  16— Under  side  of  tail  of  Spotted  Water  Snake,  showing  divided  plates 
or  scutes.    {After  Stejneger.) 

has  no  fangs  whatever,  and  its  bite  is  never  more  seri- 
ous than  that  of  a  mouse.  It  is  partial  to  still  waters 
of  considerable  'depth,  and  seldom  frequents  streams 
that  have  not  a  bottom  of  deep,  soft  mud,  in  which 
to  take  refuge  when  pursued,  and  in  which  it  buries 


SNAKES.  51 

itself  deeply  during  the  winter.  It  delights  in  the 
piles  of  driftwood  which  collect  about  such  pools,  and 
on  a  midsummer  day  three  or  four  may  be  seen 
stretched  out  on  the  same  log,  evidently  enjoying  the 
sunshine  and  awaiting  the  near  approach  of  their 
favorite  prey,  the  leopard  and  bull  frogs.  Sometimes 
another  snake,  swimming  too  near,  pays  with  its  life 
the  penalty  of  its  rashness.  Minnows  also,  doubtless, 
form  a  large  proportion  of  their  food,  and  an  instance 
is  on  record  where  an  individual  of  this  species  was 
surprised  with  a  pickerel  a  foot  long  in  its  mouth. 

The  young  of  the  water  snake  and  its  near  allies 
are  hatched  from  eggs  either  within  the  body  of  the 
mother,  or  very  soon  after  the  eggs  are  laid,  and  as 
many  as  33  have  been  recorded  as  belonging  to  a  sin- 
gle brood.  Several  color  varieties  of  this  water  snake 
occur  in  Indiana,  one  of  which,  a  uniform  blue-black 
above  and  reddish  beneath,  is  known  as  the  "black 
water  moccasin,"  Tropidonotus  sipedon  crythrog  aster 
(Shaw). 

The  diamond  water  snake,  Tropidonotus  rhojnbifera 

(Hallow.),  is,  as  above  mentioned,  a  distinct  species, 

known  by  its  27  rows  of  strongly  keeled  scales;  i.  e., 

scales  with  a  ridge  extending  length- 

I!1!  Diacmo"d    wise  of  the  center  of  each,  and  by  the 
Water  Snake.  J 

squarish  brown  spots  on  the  back  alter- 
nating with  those  on  the  sides  and  connecting  with 
them  at  the  angles.  Several  specimens  of  this  snake 
from  southern  Indiana  are  in  the  State  Museum,  one 
of  which,  from  Morgan  County,  was  labeled  "  Copper- 
head—  Trigonocephalus  eontortrix — A  poisonous  Amer- 
ican Serpent,  called  also  copperbell  and  red  viper." 


52  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

The  diamond  water  snake  reaches  a  larger  size  than 
the  common  water  snake,  and  the  two  are  often  con- 
founded by  observers.  Its  habits  are  essentially  the 
same  as  in  that  species.  Both  strike  viciously  when 
disturbed,  and  exhale  a  very  disagreeable  odor  when 
handled,  this  being,  probably,  their  most  efficient 
means  of  defense. 

The  third  species  of  water  snake  found  in  the  State 

is   the  queen  or  leather  snake,  Regina  leberis  (L.),  a 

much  smaller  and  more  slender  reptile  than  either  of 

the  last  two,  seldom  exceeding  two  feet  in  length. 

Its  scales  are  keeled  and  occupy  19 

g    t*    er     rows,  while  its  color   is   olive  brown 

with  three. narrow  black  stripes  on  the 

back  and  a  yellowish  band  along  the  side.     Beneath, 

it  is  yellowish  with  two  brown  bands  which  lie  close 

together  and  reach  from  the  head  to  the  tail. 

Along  the  rapid  flowing  streams  of  central  Indiana 
this  is  a  very  common  snake,  and  it  probably  occurs 
throughout  the  State.  It  frequents,  for  the  most  part, 
shallow  running  water,  gliding  gracefully  among  the 
stems  of  the  water  willow,  Dianthera  americana  L., 
and  other  aquatic  plants;  and,  when  pursued,  taking 
refuge  beneath  some  flat  stone,  or  the  piles  of  drift- 
wood along  the  shore.  It  is  never,  as  far  as  my 
observation  goes,  found  at  any  distance  from  water, 
and  its  food  consists  mainly  of  small  "peeper"  frogs, 
young  toads  and  minnows. 

Group  II.— Black  Snakes. 

To  this  group  belong  four  species  of  our  largest 
snakes.  The  ground  color  of  each  of  them  is  black, 


SNAKES.  53 

and  the  common  name  of  "  black  snake  "  is  indiscrim- 
inately applied  to  them.  However,  a  little  practice 
soon  enables  one  to  distinguish  them  apart.  The  most 
common  of  the  four  and  the  only  one  to  which  the 
name  rightfully  belongs,  is  Bascanion  constrictor  (L.), 
a  snake  which  is  a  uniform  deep  black  above,  paler 
beneath,  and  has  the  scales  on  the  back  perfectly 
smooth  and  in  17  rows.  The  young,  up  to  the  third 
moult,  are  very  different  in  color  from  the  adult,  being 
olive  brown  with  numerous  large, 

darker  colored  spots  along  the  sides. 
Black  Snake  or   ,TT1 
Blue  Racer.      When     they     are    about     two-thirds 

grown,  the  hue  is  of  a  bluish  shade, 
and  they  are  then  commonly  known  as  "  blue  racers"  ; 
most  people  believing  them  to  be  an  entirely  different 
snake. 

More  "lies"  have  been  told  about  this  snake  than 
any  other  one  in  existence.  It  "  charms  birds,"  "  sucks 
cows,"  "steals  eggs,"  "drinks  the  milk  in  the  milk 
houses,"  "kills  a  rattle-snake  by  pulling  it  in  two," 
and  does  fifty  other  deeds  that  no  snake  on  earth  ever 
did  or  ever  will  do.  One  thing,  however,  it  can  do, 
and  do  well,  and  that  is  to  turn  tail  and  run  when 
approached,  seeking  a  shelter  with  "that  celerity  of 
movement  no  other  creeping  creature  can  obtain." 

The  black  snake  feeds  prin- 
cipally upon  rats,  mice,  crick- 
ets, grasshoppers  and  beetles, 
and  may  occasionally  swallow 
another  snake  or  a  small  bird  Fig.  17— Head  of  Black  Snake, 
for  dessert.  However,  the  good 
that  they  do  far  outweighs  the  bad,  and  yet  every 


54  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

year  their  numbers  are  becoming  less,  for  "  death  to 
the  black  snake  whenever  and  wherever  found  "  seems 
to  be  the  watchword  of  all  boys  and  most  men. 
Another  cause  for  their  lessening  numbers  is  undoubt- 
edly the  rapid  disappearance  of  the  old  Virginia  rail 
fences,  beneath  the  bottom  rail  of  which  they  were 
formerly  sure  of  a  safe  retreat  from  all  attacks. 

At  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  as  in  spring  when 
mating,  and  in  late  autumn,  when  seeking  a  hiding 
place  for  the  winter,  the  black  snake  is  vicious,  hiss- 
ing and  striking  at  a  person  who  is  several  yards  away. 
At  such  a  time  it  will  occasionally  pursue  a  person 
whom  it  recognizes  as  more  cowardly  than  itself,  and 
in  this  way  has  probably  gained  the  name  of  the  "blue 
racer.''  When  seized  by  the  neck  it  quickly  throws  a 
double  coil  about  a  person's  arm  and  gives  a  grip  with 
its  powerful  muscles  which  the  captor  has  no  .little 
difficulty  in  breaking.  The  stories  which  one  often 
hears  of  its  attacking  persons  and  squeezing  them  to 
death  are  wholly  without  foundation.  The  young 
are  hatched  from  eggs  which  are  usually  deposited  in 
soft  earth  or  the  humus  of  decayed  wood.  These  eggs 
are  an  inch  and  a  half  long  by  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  covered  with  a  tough,  thick  skin.  According  to 
Dr.  Hay,  as  many  as  nineteen  eggs  are  laid  at  a  time, 
and  from  one  ready  to  hatch  he  took  a  young  racer 
ten  and  one-half  inches  long. ' 

As  to  the  many  stories  concerning  the  size  to  which 
the  black  snake  grows,  mention  has  been  made  on  a 
previous  page.  A  little  over  six  feet  is  doubtless  their 
maximum  length,  yet  they  are  often  said  to  have  been 
seen  eight  and  even  ten  feet  long.  In  regard  to  the 


SNAKES.  55 

length  of  snakes  generally,  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott  in  one  of 
his  charming  books  has  well  said :  "  that  with  timid 
people,  a  great  deal  depends  upon  the  direction  in 
which  the  snake  was  moving  at  the  time  it  was  seen. 
As  an  old,  observing  friend  once  said  to  me,  '  When 
snakes  come  towards  folks,  every  foot  looks  a  yard 


long.'" 


One  of  the  largest  snakes  found  in  Indiana  is  the 
"pilot  snake"  or  "black  racer."  It  is  often  con- 
founded with  the  true  black  snake 
or  "blue  racer,'"  but  has  the  scales  in 
25  to  29  rows  instead  of  17,  those  along 
the  middle  of  the  back  being  obscurely  keeled.  In  the 
place  of  being  uniformly  black  above,  it  usually  has 
some  of  the  scales  white-edged,  thus  causing  some  fine 
white  mottlings  on  the  upper  side. 

The  pilot  snake  at  times  grows  to 'be  six  and  one- 
half  feet  long  and  the  body  is  always  much  thicker 
than  that  of  a  black  snake  of  the  same  length.  It 
frequents  dry,  open  wroods  and  thickets,  and  more 
often  than  any  other  of  our  snakes  is  seen  in  bushes, 
and  even  in  the  tops  of  tall  trees  where  it  has  climbed 
by  following  the  depressions  in  the  rough  bark. 
Although  its  bite  is  harmless,  yet  it  is,  probably,  our 
most  injurious  snake  on  account  of  its  liking  for  small 
birds,  which  form  one  of  its  principal  foods,  and  for 
which  it  undoubtedly  lies  in  wait  in  the  bushes  and 
trees.  Field  mice  and  insects  form  also  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  food,  so  that  it  makes  up  in  part  for  its 
depredations  among  the  birds. 

The  young  of  the  pilot  snake  are  hatched  from  eggs 
which  are  deposited  by  the  mother  in  such  places  as 


56  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

hollow  stumps  and  close  alongside  old  logs.  The 
young,  for  the  first  year  or  more  of  their  lives,  are 
ashy  gray  with  about  45  square,  chocolate  blotches  on 
the  back,  and  a  row  of  alternating  smaller  blotches 
along  each  side.  There  is  also  a  dark  band  between 
the  eyes,  and  the  foremost  spot  on  the  back  is  forked, 
each  division  extending  a  short  distance  onto  the 
head.  One  of  these  young,  16  inches  in  length,  which 
contained  a  large  shrew,  partially  digested,  was  taken 
June  11,  1894. 

A  pilot  snake  over  five  feet  in  length  was  once 
kept  by  the  writer  in  a  vacant  room  with  a  great 
horned  owl,  some  turtles  and  salamanders.  It  was 
supposed  that  the  size  of  the  owl,  which  is  one  of  our 
largest  birds  of  prey,  and  has  a  very  strong  beak  and 
talons,  would  prevent  a  conflict,  and  that  a  "  happy 
family,"  equal  in  interest  and  peaceful  inclinations  to 
any  seen  in  a  menagerie,  would  result,  but  events 
proved  otherwise.  One  night  a  strange  noise  was 
heard  in  the  room,  and  on  investigating  its  cause  it 
was  found  that  a  "struggle  for  existence"  had  taken 
place  between  the  two  leading  members  of  the  fam- 
ily. Whether  the  snake  attacked  the  owl  or  the  owl 
the  snake  was  never  known,  but  the  snake  proved 
itself  the  "fitter  in  the  struggle,"  and  quickly  squeezed 
the  life  out  of  the  owl  by  wrapping  two  coils  tightly 
about  it.  Perhaps  the  snake  would,  if  let  alone,  have 
attempted  to  swallow  the  owl,  but  a  desire  to  secure 
the  latter  in  as  good  a  condition  as  possible  for  a  per- 
manent specimen  led  to  its  immediate  removal  from  ;i 
literal  embrace  of  death. 


SNAKES.  57 

A  third  snake,  which  reaches  a  length  of  four  feet 

or  more,  and  which  in  the  country  usually  goes  also 

by  the  name  of  "black  snake,"  is  the  king  snake, 

Ophibolus  getulus  sayi  (Holbrook).     It  is  less  common 

than  either  of  the  last  two  mentioned. 

King  Snake  ^rom  them  it  may  be  known  by  the 
scales  being  smooth  and  in  21  rows. 
Many  of  the  scales  have  a  small  yellowish  spot  in  the 
center,  and  in  young  specimens  these  spots  often  unite 
to  form  cross  lines  on  the  back.  These  lines  some- 
times fork  on  the  sides  and  divide  the  black  of  the 
back  into  large  blotches.  It  will  thus  be  noted  that 
the  young  of  many  black  or  dark  colored  snakes  are 
always  spotted,  and  that  as  they  grow  older  and  shed 
their  skins  a  number  of  times  they  gradually  grow 
darker,  until  finally  they  become  almost  wholly  black. 
This  has,  in  the  past,  been  the  cause  of  much  confu- 
sion in  the  naming  of  the  reptiles,  many  of  the  young 
having  been  thought  to  be  distinct  species. 

The  king  snake  frequents  open  woodlands  and  the 
borders  of  moist  thickets,  feeding  upon  mice,  moles, 
toads,  salamanders,  and,  as  noted  near' the  beginning 
of  this  paper,  upon  such  other  snakes  as  it  can  con- 
veniently swallow.  It  is  a  very  active  reptile,  but  in 
general  mild  and  inoffensive  in  its  habits.  When 
cornered,  it  will  strike  rapidly  and  viciously,  causing 
the  timid  person  who  has  suddenly  come  upon  it  to 
beat  a  hasty  retreat. 

In  some  of  the  southern  States,  where  it  is  more 
common  than  in  Indiana,  it  is  reputed  to  wage  a 
successful  warfare  upon  the  rattle-snake,  and  hence 
received  its  common  name.  A  prominent  writer  and 


58  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

generally  accepted  authority  on  snakes,  evidently  try- 
ing to  excel  some  newspaper  reporter  in  the  produc- 
tion of  a  snake  story,  avers  that :  "  By  suddenly 
springing  upon  and  encircling  the  rattle-snake  with 
its  coils,  the  king  snake  soon  squeezes  the  venomous 
reptile  to  death.  Then,  commencing  at  the  head,  the 
victor  swallows  the  rattler  whole." 

The  last  species  which  belongs  to  the  group  of  black 

snakes  is  the  horn  Bn&kQ^Farancia  tf6ac?mz(Holbrook). 

It  is  said  to  be  rather  common  in  the  southwestern 

States,   but   in    Indiana   has   been   taken    only   near 

Wheatland,Knox  County.     It  is  a  handsome  species, 

as  handsome  goes  among  snakes,  being  blue-black 

above  with  about  sixty  squarish  red 

!e     or         spots  on  the  sides.      These,  in  some 

specimens,  extend  nearly  to  the  middle 

of  the  back.     Beneath,  it  is  red,  blotched  with  black. 

The  scales  are  smooth  and  in  nineteen  rows. 

Having  never  met  with  this  species  alive,  I  can  say 
but  little  of  its  habits.  According  to  its  first  describer, 
it  is  shy  and  lives  in  swampy  ground  and  damp  thick- 
ets. It  reaches  a  length  of  four  feet  or  more.  People 
in  the  southern  half  of  the  State  should  be  on  the 
lookout  for  it,  and  if  a  specimen  is  secured  it  should 
be  sent  to  the  State  Museum  or  presented  to  some 
school  which  will  preserve  it  for  future  reference. 

Group  III. — Spotted  Snakes. 

Among  the  harmless  snakes  occurring  in  Indiana, 
which  are  usually  found  at  some  distance  from  water, 
are  four  species  of  medium  or  large  size  which  are 


SNAKES.  59 

distinctly  spotted  throughout  their  entire  lives.  One 
of  the  most  handsome  of  these,  and  one  quite  fre- 
quently met  with  in  dry,  upland  woods,  and  ahout 
country  houses  and  barns,  is  the  "  spotted  adder," 
Ophibolus  doliatus  triangulus  (Boie.),  "house  snake," 
"milk  snake,"  "thunder  and  lightning  snake,"  or 

almost  anything  else  one  may  wish  to 

•  The  House  or        n    it    ag   it   ig        creature   of  many 

Milk  Snake.  f       ..   ,  _J 

names,  of  which   the   above  are  the 

most  common.  It  varies  much  in  color,  but  is 
usually  grayish  with  three  rows  of  brick-red,  black- 
bordered  blotches  on  the  back  and  sides ;  the  larger 
ones  saddle-shaped  and  alternating  with  the  smaller, 
the  latter  being  often  wholly  black.  There  is  usually 
a  light  colored  arrow-shaped  spot  back  of  the  head, 
while  beneath,  the  body  is  checkered  with  black  and 
creamy  white.  The  scales  are  smooth  and  in  21  rows. 
The  young  are  hatched  from  eggs  which  are  about 
two  inches  long  and  a  little  more  than  an  inch  in 
diameter.  During  the  first  year  of  their  lives  they 
are  often  found  beneath  the  loose  bark  of  logs  and 
stumps,  where  they  are  doubtless  seeking  the  crickets, 
cockroaches  and  other  insects  which  have  there  their 
abiding  places. 

The  house  snake  sometimes  reaches  a  length  of 
four  feet,  and  when  disturbed  resents  only  by  darting 
out  its  forked  tongue  and  giving  an  occasional  vibra- 
tion of  its  tail.  Its  usual  food  consists  of  mice,  rats, 
and  such  unfortunate  toads  as  happen  in  its  way, 
except  in  grasshopper  season,  when  it  feasts  to  its 
stomach's  content  upon  those  festive  insects.  It  is 
often  found  about  spring  houses  where  milk  is  kept, 


60  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

presumably  in  search  of  frogs  and  salamanders  which 
frequent  such  damp  localities;  but  the  owner  of  the 
milk  usually  asserts  that  it  drinks  that  lacteous  fluid 
and  hence  gives  it  the  name  of  "  milk  snake." 

In  rare  instances  double-headed  specimens  of  this 
snake  have  been  taken.  The  writer  has  seen  one  in 
which  the  two  heads  were  each  about  three  inches 
long  and  then  united  into  one  body. 

According  to  scientists,  the  house  snake  is  only  a 
color  variety  of  the  red  snake,  Ophibolus  doliatus  (L.). 
The  latter  is  red  or  scarlet  and  has  20  or  more  pairs 
of  black  rings,  each  pair  enclosing  a  yellow  spot.  Its 
habits  are  essentially  the  same  as  those  of  the  house 
snake,  but  it  is  much  less  common  and  seldom  grows 
above  two  feet  in  length.  It  has  been  taken  in  a  num- 
ber of  localities  in  southern  Indiana,  but  in  the  north 
only  the  more  spotted  variety  has,  as  yet,  been  found. 

Another  spotted  reptile  closely  allied  to  the  house 

snake  is  the  chain  snake,  Ophibolus  callicj  aster  (Say). 

Its  smooth  scales  are  in  25  rows,  and  it  has  about  60 

squarish  chestnut-colored   blotches   along   the   back 

which  alternate  with  smaller  rounded 

Snake  spots  along  each  side,  the  ground  color 

being  olive  gray. 

The  range  of  the  chain  snake  is  western,  and  but  a 
single  specimen  is  so  far  known  from  Indiana.  It 
was  taken  by  the  writer  from  open  woods  just  east  of 
Terre  Haute  in  Vigo  County,  and  is  about  three  feet 
in  length.  Nothing  distinctive  is  known  of  its  habits, 
though  in  Illinois  it  is  said  to  frequent  prairies,  where 
it  doubtless  lives  mainly  upon  small  mammals  and 
insects. 


SNAKES.  61 

The  fox  snake,  Coluber  vulpinus  (B.  &  G.),  is  a  third 
distinctly  spotted  snake  which  is  found  occasionally 
in  Indiana.  The  ground  color  is  light  brown  or 
grayish-yellow',  and  there  are  about  60  chocolate- 
colored  spots  across  the  back,  which 
se.°  alternate  with  smaller  ones  on  each 
side.  It  may  be  known  from  the  chain 
snake  by  its  having  nine  or  more  of  the  25  rows  of 
scales  keeled.  The  under  surface  is  yellowish,  with 
large  squarish  blotches  of  black. 

The  fox  snake  feeds  upon  the  smaller  mammals,  as 
half-groAvn  rabbits,  mice  and  ground  squirrels.  Like 
most  snakes  it  is  irritable  and  vicious  when  surprised 
immediately  after  swallowing  its  prey,  evidently  fear- 
ing that  the  intruder  will  cause  it  to  disgorge  the 
latter  and  so  deprive  it  of  its  dinner. 

The  fourth  species  of  spotted  snakes  occurring  in 
the  State  is  the  corn  snake,  Coluber  guttatus  L.,  a  rep- 
tile of  southern  range,  which  has  been  taken  at  a  few 
localities  in  southern  Indiana.  It  is  thought  by  some 
to  be  only  a  variety  of  the  fox  snake, 

Snake          ^u^  ^ie  sca^es  are  *n  ^7  rows  and  the 
ground  "color  is  brick-red  instead   of 
gray.     The  dark  blotches  are  also  fewer,  being  seldom 
more  than  45. 

Not  having  seen  the  corn  snake  alive  I  can  say 
nothing  of  its  habits.  Holbrook  says  that  in  North 
Carolina  "it  is  found  about  the  roadsides  early  in  the 
morning  or  at  the  dusk  of  evening,  unlike  most  snakes 
concealing  itself  during  the  day.  It  is  very  gentle  and 
familiar  .  .  .  at  times  entering  houses,  and  is,  accord- 
ing to  Catesby,  a  great  robber  of  hen-roosts/' 


62  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


Group  IV. — Striped  or  Garter  Snakes. 

Four  slender  bodied  reptiles,  whose  general  color 
consists  of  three  light  stripes  on  a  darker  ground,  with 
sometimes  intervening  darker  spots,  and  with  the 
lower  side  unspotted,  belong  to  this  group  of  harmless 
snakes.  The  scales  of  all  are  keeled  and  in  19,  rarely 
21,  rows. 

Of  these  the  ribbon  snake,  Eutainia  saurita  (L.),  is 
much  more  slender  and  graceful,  and  withal  a  hand- 
somer species  than  any  other,  its  color 

The  Ribbon      ,     .  j     r       i  i    4     i 

Snake  being  a  dark,  glossy,  chocolate-brown, 

with  the  three  stripes  of  a  bright  green- 
ish yellow.  It  reaches  a  length  of  three  feet  or  more, 
and  its  favorite  haunts  are  damp  thickets  and  the  bor- 
ders of  streams  and  ponds,  where,  on  the  first  bright 
sunny  days  of  spring,  several  may  sometimes  be  found 
in  close  proximity.  It  often  takes  to  water  to  escape 
its  enemies,  swimming  with  graceful  curves  of.  its  long 
slender  tail,  but  it  is  by  no  means  aquatic  in  its  habits. 
The  food  of  the  ribbon  snake  is  chiefly  insects  and  the 
small  cricket  frogs,  its  body  being  too  slender  to 
encompass  many  of  those  larger  forms  of  life  in  which 
other  snakes  delight.  A  stouter  bodied,  darker  col- 
ored variety  of  this  species  is  sometimes  called  Fairey's 
garter  snake. 

The  common  garter  snake,  Eatainia  sirtalis  (L.), 
is  the  most  common  reptile  in  the  United  States, 
and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  variable. 
Four  varieties  are  known  to  occur  in  Indiana  as 
follows : 


SNAKES.  63 

(a)  Grass  snake,  E.  s.  graminea  Cope ;  color,  green, 
lacking  both  stripes  and  spots,  except  a  small  black 
spot  near  the  end  of  each  ventral  plate. 

(6)  Spotted  garter  snake,  E.  s.  ordinata  (L.) ;  lacks 
the  stripes,  bat  has  three  distinct  rows  of  square  dark 
spots,  on  each  side  between  the  head  and  tail ;  and 
also  a  small  black  spot  at  the  end  of  each  ventral  plate. 

(c)  Red-sided  garter  snake,  E.  s.  parietalis  (Say) ; 
has  the  stripes  present,  yellow  or  greenish,  and  a  row 
of  brick-red  spots  alternating  with  a  row  of  darker 
colored  spots  along  the  sides. 

(d)  Common  garter  snake,  E.  s.  sirtalis  (L.) ;  has 
the  stripes  present  but  faint  and  narrow,  with  three 
rows  of  indistinct  dark  spots  on  each  side. 

These  varieties  are  named  in  the  order  of  their  rel- 
ative abundance  in  Indiana,  the  grass  snake  being 
scarce,  while  in  the  course  of  the  summer  more  of  the 
red-sided  and  common  garter  snakes 

The  are  probably  seen  than  of  the  individ- 

Common  r  ^  . 

Garter  Snake.  ua*s  °*  a^  °ther  species  combined. 
They  are  to  be  found  anywhere,  but 
prefer  the  vicinity  of  water,  where  frogs  and  other 
snake  food  is  most  abundant.  When  teased,  they 
flatten  the  body,  elevate  the  scales,  hiss  and  exude  a 
disgusting  odor.  Sometimes  they  strike  viciously  and 
may  even  draw  blood  with  their  needle-like  teeth,  but 
their  bite  is  less  harmful  than  that  of  a  mosquito,  as 
it  causes  no  swelling  or  after  pain.  The  young  of  the 
garter  snake  are  born  alive  in  late  summer  or  early 
autumn,  and  their  number  is  legion.  Dr.  J.  Schneck, 
of  Mt.  Carmel,  Illinois,  has  recorded*  the  taking  of 

"American  Naturalist,  XVI,  1882, 1008. 


64  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

78  from  three  to  seven  inches  in  length  from  the  body 
of  a  single  female  35  inches  long.  Other  observers 
have  noted  from  35  to  80. 

This  snake  has  many  enemies,  among  which  may 
be  mentioned  owls,  hawks,  hogs,  skunks,  ducks,  tur- 
keys, other  snakes,  and  last  but  not  least,  the  small 
boy  with  a  big  club.  Feeding  as  it  does  mainly  upon 
insects  and  the  smaller  injurious  mammals,  the  good 
that  it  does  far  outweighs  the  bad.  In  the  future, 
therefore,  let  its  presence  in  the  dooryard  be  looked 
upon  with  favor,  and  let  the  hand  be  stayed  that  in 
the  past  has  ever  been  raised  against  it. 

The  Racine  garter  snake,  Eutainia  radix  (B.  &  G.), 
has  been  taken  in  a  few  localities  in  western  Indiana. 
Prof.  E.  D.  Cope  says  that  it  is  the  prevailing  garter 
snake  of  the  western  plains,  ranging  from  the  base  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west  to  the  eastern 
limit  of  the  prairies  in  Indiana  on 

The  the  east.     Its  scales  are  usually  in  21 

Racine 

Garter  Snake.  rows  anc*  are  prominently  keeled  so 
that  the  reptile  is  very  rough  in 
appearance.  In  color  it  is  dark  olive  brown  with  the 
lateral  stripe  on  the  third  and  fourth  rows  of  scales 
instead  of  on  the  second  and  third,  as  in  the  common 
garter  snake.  The  stripe  on  the  back  is  bordered 
with  black  and  there  are  two  rows  of  dark  spots  on 
each  side  between  the  stripes.  Below  the  lateral  stripe 
there  is  also  an  additional  row  of  small  spots.  The 
average  length  is  about  two  feet. 

The  habits  of  the  Racine  garter  snake  are  essen- 
tially the  same  as  those  of  the  more  common  species. 
Living  as  it  does  mainly  in  prairie  regions  it  is  largely 


SNAKES.  65 

preyed  upon  by  hawks  and  in  turn  preys  upon  the 
smaller  mammals.  These  live  upon  the  insects,  which 
gain  their  sustenance  from  the  grass  and  grain.  Thus, 
by  tracing  back  the  food  of  each,  we  realize  the  force 
of  the  old  saying:  "All  flesh  is  grass,"  and  know 
that  the  plant  must  have  existed  before  the  insect, 
reptile,  bird  or  mammal  made  its  appearance  upon 
earth. 

Butler's  garter  snake,  Eutainia  butleri  Cope,  was  de- 
scribed from  a  specimen  taken  near  Richmond,  Indi- 
ana.    But  two  additional  specimens  have  since  been 
secured,  one   at  Waterloo,  Dekalb  County,  and  the 
other   near  Turkey  Lake,  Kosciusko 

Rn1"|pr's 

Garter  Snake.  Courity-  Tt  is  Distinguished  by  the 
yellow,  black-bordered  lateral  stripe 
covering  three  instead  of  two  rows  of  scales,  and  by 
its  head  being  much  smaller  and  more  conical  than  in 
the  typical  garter  snakes.  The  eye  is  also  propor- 
tionally smaller  than  in  any  other  of  the  more 
common  species.  Nothing  distinctive  of  its  habits 
is  known,  and  additional  specimens  are  greatly  to  be 
desired. 

Group  V. — Green  Snakes. 

Of  all  our  reptiles  not  one  can  exceed  in  beauty 
and  gracefulness  the  "green"  or  "summer  snake," 
Cydophis  cestivtis  (L.)  It  possesses  17  rows  of  keeled 
scales  and  in  color  is  a  uniform  bright  green  above 
and  light  yellow  beneath.  With  a  body  remarkably 
slender  for  its  length,  which  at  times  reaches  thirty  or 
more  inches,  it  is  an  object  which  delights  the  eye  of 
5 


66  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

the  nature-loving  rambler  whenever  he  is  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  meet  with  it.  The  favorite  haunts  of  the 
summer  snake  are  rocky  hillsides, 

Summer  Snake. 


especially    those    in    the    vicinity    of 


running  water.  Oftentimes,  too,  the 
seeker  after  wild  berries  is  needlessly  frightened  by 
seeing  one  reposing  on  the  bushes  within  a  few  inches 
of  his  out-stretched  hands.  One  of  these  snakes, 
kept  in  captivity  by  the  writer,  often  rested  on  the 
posterior  half  of  its  body,  and,  raising  the  front  half 
almost  vertically,  it  would  remain  rigid  and  motion- 
less for  half  an  hour  at  a  time.  In  its  wild  state  such 
a  habit,  if  practiced,  would  render  it,  for  the  time 
being,  very  secure  against  such  enemies  as  were 
guided  only  by  the  sense  of  sight,  and  would  allow 
the  near  approach  of  such  small  animals  as  the  snake 
subsisted  upon. 

The  habits  of  this  species  were  excellently  por- 
trayed by  Dr.  Holbrook,  who  wrote  of  it  as  follows : 
"The  summer  snake  is  perfectly  harmless  and  gentle, 
easily  domesticated,  and  takes  readily  its  food  from 
the  hand.  I  have  seen  it  carried  in  the  pocket  or 
twisted  around  the  arm  or  neck  as  a  plaything,  with- 
out ever  evincing  any  disposition  to  mischief.  In  its 
wild  state  it  lives  among  the  branches  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  shooting  with  great  velocity  from  bough  to 
bough,  in  pursuit  of  the  insects  which  serve  as  its 
nourishment.  Its  green  color,  similar  to  the  leaves 
among  which  it  lives,  affords  it  protection  against 
those  birds  which  prey  upon  it." 

Another  green  snake,  as  handsome  as  the  one  last 
mentioned,  and  distinguished  from  it  only  by  its  scales 


SNAKES.  67 

being  smooth  and  in  15  rows,  is  the  smooth  green 

snake,  Lioj)eltis  vernalis  (DeKay).      It  is  much   less 

common  in  Indiana  than  the  summer 

8nake»  and  is  f°Und  usuallv  in  the  tal1 
rank   grasses  which  grow  about  the 

margins  of  marshes  and  swamps.  There  it  lies  in  wait 
for  the  green  grasshoppers  and  katydids  which  are  so 
abundant  in  such  a  place.  Except  in  these  grasses  it 
is  seldom  seen  higher  than  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Its  eggs,  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  were  found  by  one 
observer  beneath  the  bark  of  an  old  stump,  and  one 
young  snake,  just  hatched,  was  five  inches  in  length. 

Group  VI. — Small  Brown  Snakes. 

The  snakes  heretofore  mentioned  comprise  the 
giants  of  the  family  as  found  in  Indiana.  We  shall 
now  deal  for  a  time  with  the  dwarfs.  Six  of  the  29 
species  occurring  in  the  State,  when  full  grpwn,  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  exceed  16  inches  in  length. 

The  m.ost  common  of  the  six  is  known  as  DeKay's 
brown  snake,  Storeria  dekayi  (Holbrook).  -It  is  grayish- 
brown  in  color,  paler  beneath,  has  a  narrow  pale  band 

along  the  back  and  a  dark  spot  behind 
Brown Tnake.    each  eve-     Tne  scales  are  keeled  and 

in  17  rows,  and  the  average  length  is 
about  one  foot.  This  is  one  of  the  first  snakes  seen 
in  the  spring,  a  specimen  having  been  taken  by  the 
writer  as  early  as  April  2nd.  Like  many  other  species 
it  is  then  usually  found  close  to  water,  and  doubtless 
breaks  its  long  fast  upon  one  of  the  small  "cricket" 
or  "peeper"  frogs,  whose  shrill  and  countless  voices 


68  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

make  the  welkin  ring  on  just  such  days  as  tempt  the 
snake  forth  from  its  winter's  retreat.  As  these  frogs, 
small  as  they  are,  are  fully  twice  the  diameter  of  the 
snake,  it  is  doubtless  with  much  effort  that  this  first 
spring  meal  reaches  its  final  resting  place  in  the  lat- 
ter's  stomach.  Later  on  in  the  season  young  and  ten- 
der grasshoppers  and  crickets  furnish  them  a  bountiful 
repast,  and  it  is  even  affirmed  of  them  by  Abbott  that 
"they  are  excellent  fishers,  and  gliding  through  the 
water  with  marvelous  celerity,  they  catch  minnows 
and  young  pike  in  large  numbers."  The  young  of 
this  species,  as  well  as  those  of  the  next,  are  hatched 
from  eggs  within  the  body  of  the  mother,  and  num- 
ber from  eight  to  fifteen. 

Another  snake  which,  from  above,  closely  resem- 
bles the  last  mentioned  in  color  and  size  is  Storer's 
brown  snake,  Storeria  occipitomaculata  (Store r).  Its 
scales,  however,  are  in  15  rows,  and  on 
B  iTsnake  Burning  ^  over,  a  difference  can  be 
readily  seen  as  it  is  a  deep  salmon-red 
beneath,  whence  it  is  often  called  the  "red-bellied 
brown  snake."  Its  usual  home  is  beneath  logs  and 
stones  where  it  feeds  upon  crickets,  myriapods,  slugs, 
earth  worms  and  other  crawling  creatures. 

On  one  occasion  while  driving  in  Vigo  County  the 
writer  saw  a  chicken  running  along  the  roadside  with 
a  wriggling  snake  in  its  bill.  After  a  sharp  chase  of 
the  fowl  through  a  rail  fence  and  a  blackberry  patch, 
its  prey  was  dropped  and  proved  to  be  a  fine  speci- 
men of  Storer's  snake.  As  soon  as  it  *found  itself 
free  it  wrapped  its  tail  about  a  small  bush  and  when 
approached  flattened  itself  very  much  after  the  man- 


SNARES. 


69 


ner  of  a  spreading  viper.     The  row  of  brown  dots 
bordering  the  pale  band  along  the  back 
then  became  much  more  prominent  than 
they  were  when  the  body  resumed  its 
normal  shape. 

Most  snakes  have  a  head  larger  than, 
and  distinct  from,  the  body,  but  there 
are  two  occurring  in  Indiana  which  have 
the  head  indistinct,  it  being  at  the  base 
of  the  same  width  as  the  body  whence 
it  tapers  gradually  to  a  dull  point.     The 
more  common  of  the  two  is  the  ground 
snake,      Carphophiops      amocnus     (Say). 
Twelve  inches  is  its  max- 
imum length,  and  on  ac- 
count  of  the    small   size 
and  the  tapering  head  it  is  often  called 
the    "worm   snake."      In    color   it   is   a 
glossy    chestnut-brown   above 
and    red    or    pinkish    below, 
while  the   scales   are    smooth 
and  in  13  rows.     It  lives,  for 
the  most  part,  coiled  up  beside 
or  beneath  rotten  logs,  among 
dead    leaves,    and    about    the 
roots  of  trees.     In  such  places 
it  readily  makes  its  way,  forc- 
ing its  sharp  muzzle  into  nar- 
row crevices  with  much  mus- 
cular strength.  Such  surround- 
ings also   harmonize  with   its 
colors,  and  crickets  and  other      ««•  «^£™J«  »«- 


70  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

snake  delicacies  are  there  plentiful — two  conditions 
of  life,  which,  if  a  snake  possess,  fully  satisfy  it  here 
below.  It  is  perfectly  harmless,  not  being  able  to 
open  its  small  mouth  sufficiently  wide  to  bite  a  person 
if  it  would ;  although  by  twisting  about  one's  wrist 
or  finger  it  may  cause  an  involuntary  snaky  shudder 
to  creep  up  his  back. 

The  second  species  with  the  conic  head  indistinct 
from  the  body  is  Virginia's  snake,  Virginia  elegant 
Kennicott.     It  is  light  olive  brown  above  and  yellow- 
ish beneath,  while  scattered  over  the 

upper  surface  are  numerous  small  black 
Snake. 

dots,  resembling  points  made  by  a  hue 

pen.  The  scales  are  in  17  rows,  very  narrow  and 
faintly  keeled.  In  Indiana  Virginia's  snake  has  been 
recorded  only  from  Brown  County.  Its  habits  are 
unknown,  but  presumably  the  same  as  those  of  the 
worm  snake,  since  it  frequents  similar  localities. 

Two  other  small  snakes  remain  to  be  mentioned, 
and  although  neither  is  strictly  brown  yet  they  AVI  11 
be  treated  of  in  this  connection.     One  is  the  "ring- 
necked  snake,"  Diadophis  punctatus  (L.).  a  handsome 
little   reptile,   blue-black   above,  pale 

The  orange  below,  and  with  a  conspicuous 

Ring=Necked          n       •  i       •  i        rni. 

Snake          yellowish  ring  about  the  neck.     Ine 

smooth  scales  are  in  15  rows,  and  on 
the  outer  end  of  each  of  the  ventral  plates  there  is 
usually  a  small  black  spot,  while  a  median  row  of 
similar  spots  is  sometimes  present  on  the  under  side 
between  the  head  and  tail. 

Growing  to  a  length  of  a  foot  or  more,  the  ring- 
necked  snake  is  usually  found  beneath  the  loose  bark 


VI. 


I.     RING  NECKED  SNAKE. 


DEKAY'S  BROWN  SNAKE 


III.     KIRTLAND'S  SNAKE. 


SNAKES.  71 

of  a  fallen  tree  or  under  a  chunk  on  some  dry  hillside. 
In  such  a  place  it  feeds  upon  those  insects  which  come 
readily  to  hand  and,  when  disturbed,  seeks  to  defend 
itself  only  hy  exuding  a  disagreeable  odor. 

More  common  than  the  above,  especially  in  central 
Indiana,  is  Kirtland's  snake,  Tropidodonium  kirtlandi 
(Kennicott).  It  also  is  very  prettily  marked,  being 
light  reddish  brown  with  two  rows  of  large  round 

dark  spots  011  each  side,  while  beneath 
Kirtland's       it  ig  a  j^g^t  salmon  red,  with  a  row 

of  black  spots  along  the  margin  of  the 
ventral  plates.  The  scales  are  keeled  and  in  19  rows. 
This  snake  evidently  feeds  at  night,  for  of  20  or 
more  taken  by  the  writer,  all  were  found  coiled  up 
beneath  logs  or  stones,  seemingly  half  asleep,  as  they 
were  very  sluggish  in  their  actions  even  after  their 
chosen  shelter  had  been  rolled  from  above  them.  Its 
only  show  of  self  defense  is  a  habit  of  flattening  itself 
so  that  it  becomes  very  broad  and  thin.  It  then 
strikes  viciously  for  several  times,  when,  seemingly 
satisfied  with  its  show  of  resistance,  it  -coils  itself  up 
and  quietly  eyes  the  intruder.  Toads,  frogs  and 
insects  comprise  its  food,  and  the  young  are  born 
alive. 

Grvup  VII.— The  Vipers. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  last,  the  ugliest  and  the 
clumsiest  of  them  all,  the  "  hog-nosed  snake"  or 
"spreading  viper,"  Heterodon  platyrhinus  Latreille. 
Much  has  been  said  of  it  on  the  previous  pages  but  it 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  mention,  as  none  other 
of  our  snakes  can  hiss  more  loudly,  spread  more  flatly, 


72  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

or  snap  more  fiercely ;  and  none  other,  as  commonly 
met  with;  is  as  much  feared  as  this.  And  yet,  in 

spite  of  all  these  threatening  actions, 
The  Spreading    . ,      ,  . ,      .  « 

Viper  -    e  1S  Per*ect'y  harmless,   as  the 

writer  knows  by  experience.  It  has 
no  sign  of  a  poison  fang  and  no  duct  connectyjg  with 
a  poison  gland.  Aside  from  its  actions  the  spreading 
viper  may  be  known  from  other  Indiana  snakes  by 
having  the  snout  brought  to  an  edge  along  the  sides 
and  to  a  point  in  front,  and  then  turned  up  so  as  to 
resemble  a  pointed  dirt  shovel.  In 
color  this  snake  is  either  uniform 
black,  or  a  yellowish  brown  with 
about  28  darker  blotches  on  the 

back  and 
sides.  The 
spotted 
form  is  the 
one  most 

Fig.  19 — Head  of  Spreading  Viper,  shown  from  top  and  side.      U  S  11  a  1  1  V 

seen  but  the  other  in  this  vicinity  is  not  rare.  The 
scales  are  keeled  and  disposed  in  23  or'  25  rows.  It 
sometimes  reaches  a  length  of  three  and  a  half  feet 
and  is  then  possessed  of  a  thick  and  heavy  body. 

A  closely  allied  form,  both  in  structure  and  habits,  is 
the.  "sand  viper,"  Heterodon  simus  (L.),  which  inhabits 
the  southern  States  and  has  been  taken  in  Indiana  at 
New  Harmony  and  Brookville.  It  is  distinguished 
from  the  spreading  viper  by  having  the  central  plate 
of  the  head  surrounded  by  five  to  ten  small  plates.  It 
seldom  exceeds  two  feet  in  length  and  the  scales  are 
sometimes  in  27  rows. 


SNAKES.  73 

The  young  of  the  spreading  viper  are  hatched  from 
eggs  which  are  buried  in  loose  soil,  sand  or  the  humus 
of  decayed  logs.  The  eggs  are  about  1 J  x  f  inches  in 
size  and  covered  with  a  tough,  yellowish  membrane. 
As  many  as  27  are  known  to  belong  to  the  same  batch. 
When  just  hatched  the  young  are  about  8  inches  in 
length  and  are  ready  to  hiss,  flatten  the  body  and 
strike  viciously  whenever  teased. 

A  singular  habit  possessed  by  the  spreading  viper 
is  that  of  sometimes  feigning  death  when  disturbed. 
This  is  more  often  indulged  in  in  early  spring  soon 
after  they  have  left  their  winter  retreats  and  while 
they  are  seeking  their  first  spring  meal  or  choosing 
their  future  mates.  On  March  23, 1893,  a  black  speci- 
men was  found  coiled  up  in  some  dead  leaves  in  an 
open  place  in  the  woods.  On  being  teased  it  went 
into  a  "fit,"  turning  on  its  back  with  its  mouth  wide 
open  and  its  tongue  protruded  at  full  length.  When- 
ever it  was  turned  right  side  up  it  would  immediately 
turn  on  its  back  again.  If  held  right  side  up  with  a 
stick  it  would  squirm  vigorously  and  endeavor  to  turn 
over.  It  was  left  lying  bottom  up,  but  on  my  return- 
ing to  the  spot  a  half  hour  afterward  had  disappeared. 

On  another  occasion  a  black  and  a  spotted  one  were 
found  in  company  and  when  disturbed  they  opened 
wide  their  mouths,  turned  on  their  backs  and  coiled 
and  twisted  about  in  a  very  rapid  and  curious  manner 
for  about  five  minutes,  when  they  became  quiet  and 
apparently  lifeless.  During  all  these  contortions  they 
had  remained  on  their  backs,  and  when  they  became 
quiet  and  were  turned  over  they  would  immediately 
turn  on  their  backs  again,  but  otherwise  gave  no  signs 


74  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  life,  even  at  the  end  of  an  hour's  time.  According 
to  Dr.  Hay,  the  newly  hatched  young,  when  teased, 
will  undergo  the  same  contortions,  and  will  lie  per- 
fectly still  on  the  back  until  they  think  they  are  unob- 
served when  they  will  turn  over  and  slyly  creep  away. 
The  favorite  resort  of  the  "  spreading  viper"  is  a 
sandy  hillside  with  a  southern  exposure,  or  the  bor- 
ders of  an  open  or  cultivated  field.  In  such  a  locality 
their  principal  food  consists  chiefly  of  noxious  insects, 
and  hence  they,  as  well  as  all  other  harmless  snakes, 
should  merit  the  protection  of  man  instead  of  being 
forever  an  especial  target  of  his  insane  desire  to  kill 
all  objects  beneath  him  in  the  scale  of  life. 

TO  A  GAKTER  SNAKE. 

Thou  art  humble 
And  content  to  crawl 
Upon  the  lap  of  earth : 
To  seek  thy  food  without  the  brawl 
And  strife,  which  others, 
Far  above  thee  in  the  scale  of  life, 
Do  use. 

Thou  art  harmless, 
And  yet  upon  thy  head 
Has  ever  been  a  curse  unmerited  ; 
Making  of  thee  a  shunned,  polluted  thing, 
Although  thou  art  possessed 
Of  neither  fang  nor  sting. 

And  even  now,     •• 
In  this  enlightened  age, 
Man  sees  thee  but  to  spurn 
And  strike  at  thy  poor  form ; 
And  on  the  printed  page 
Thy  name  is  seldom  uttered 
Save  with  words  of  scorn. 


i 

W    o 

US 

O    « 


o  .2 

W    fi 
p     w 

A   S 


A   FEATHERED   MIDGET   AND   ITS  NEST. 


Next  to  the  humming-bird,  the  blue-gray  gnat- 
catcher,  Polioptila  ccerulea  (L.),  is  the  smallest  bird  nest- 
ing in  Indiana.  It  is  a  summer  resident,  arriving 
from  the  south  about  the  tenth  of  April ;  the  date  of 
its  arrival  in  Yigo  County  for  five  successive  years 
having  been  April  10th,  llth,  llth,  10th  and  10th, 
respectively,  showing  that  it  can  judge  the  day  of  the 
year  almost  as  well  as  some  beings  higher  in  the  scale 
of  animal  life. 

The  total  length  of  the  bird  is  but  4J  inches,  and  of 
this,  2J  inches  is  tail.  The  color  is  an  ashy  blue, 
brightest  on  the  head;  the  male  with  the  forehead 
and  a  line  over  the  eye,  black. 

By  the  time  the  gnat-catcher  arrives,  insects  of  vari- 
ous kinds  are  plentiful  and  its  season's  work  of  lessen- 
ing their  ranks  at  once  begins.  On  April  18,  1897,  I 
watched  for  an  hour  four  of  these  birds  in  their  cease- 
less insect-seeking  movements.  They  were'in  a  thorn 
tree  and  I  in  the  angle  of  an  old  rail  fence,  less  than 
a  dozen  feet  away.  Flitting  from  twig  to  twig ;  turn- 
ing their  heads  now  this  way,  now  that ;  peering  first 
on  one  side  of  a  branch  and  then  on  the  other,  they 
kept  up  their  eager  quest.  Every  few  moments  one 
would  dart  out  to  one  side  of  the  tree  and  catch  an 
insect  on  the  wing.  Once,  while  endeavoring  to  catch 
a  rapidly  flying  beetle,  one  of  the  feathered  sprites 

(75) 


76  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

turned  a  complete  somersault  in  the  air.  Again, 
another  flew  close  to  the  ground  within  a  foot  of  my 
reclining  form,  caught  a  small  moth  hovering  above 
the  grass,  and  then  darting  back  to  its  perch  gave  the 
insect  two  or  three  whacks  against  a  branch,  either  to 
kill  it  or  to  straighten  it  so  that  it  could  be  easily 
swallowed,  and  then  gulped  it  down. 

One  caught  a  moth  as  large  as  a  cabbage  butterfly, 
and  struck  it  on  a  limb  for  several  seconds.  Four 
times  the  luckless  insect  got  away  but  was  each  time 
recaptured  in  short  order,  and  was  finally,  after 
repeated  shakings  and  beatings,  swallowed,  wings  and 
all— the  bird  stretching  and  gaping  for  some  little 
time  thereafter,  much  as  does  a  hen  which  has  swal- 
lowed a  tight  fit  for  her  oesophagus.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  if  the  insect  be  small  it  is  swallowed  as  soon 
as  caught,  often  before  the  bird  reaches  its  perch.  If 
large,  the  beating  on  the  limb  or  other  resting  place 
of  the  bird  takes  place. 

When  insect  life,  in  and  close  about  the  thorn  tree 
became,  for  a  time,  scarce,  one  or  two  of  the  birds 
would  fly  to  the  near-by  fence  and  flitting  along  its 
angles  would  sometimes  be  rewarded  by  starting  up 
an  unlucky  insect  which  would  be  instantly  nabbed. 
Again  returning  to  the  thorn  they  would  fly  to  a 
papaw,  on  whose  large,  velvety,  expanding  buds 
small  bees  and  flies  were  plentiful ;  but  the  thorn 
seemed  their  favorite  base  of  operations,  and  to  it 
they  invariably  returned. 

The  long  tail  of  the  gnat-catcher  serves  it  admira- 
bly as  a  rudder,  and  in  the  stiff  breeze  which  was 
blowing,  was  bent  now  this  way,  now  that,  to  preserve 


A  FEATHERED  MIDGET  AND  ITS  NEST.         77 

the  balance  of  the  owner.  The  tail  of  the  male  bird 
is  darker  than  that  of  the  other  sex.  When  in  flight 
the  feathers  are  spread  out,  the  lateral  ones  showing 
pure  white  from  beneath  the  blue-gray  of  the  others. 

Many  other  birds  were  seeking  food  in  the  shrubs 
and  trees  close  by,  but  I  doubt  if  any  succeeded  in 
finding  as  much  as  did  the  tiny  gnat-catchers.  They 
were  content  with  small  fry,  seemingly  believing  that 
"many  a  mickle  makes  a  muckle."  No  insect  of  any 
size  escaped  their  gaze.  Gnats,  mosquitoes,  moths  and 
flies  were  spied  out  a  dozen,  yes  fifty,  feet  away,  and 
with  one  straight  dive  and  a  click  of  the  bill,  the  days 
of  the  insect  were  ended  forever.  The  birds  seldom 
missed  their  aim  although  in  one  instance  one  flew 
full  seventy  feet  and  caught  a  flying  form  too  small 
for  me  to  see  at  that  distance.  The  insects  preyed 
upon  must  have  been  poor  in  nutrition  or  else  the 
gnat-catchers  are  veritable  gourmands,  for  while  I 
watched  them  each  one  caught,  on  an  average,  three 
to  the  minute,  which  would  be  1,800  for  a  day  of  ten 
hours. 

The  usual  alarm  note,  similar  to  that  of  the  cat-bird 
but  much  softer,  was  not  heard  during  the  hour  that 
the  birds 'were  observed.  At  intervals  one  would 
utter  a  faint  chirp  or  chuckle,  as  if  talking  to  another. 
A  low  pit-ut-ut-e  sound  was  also  occasionally  made. 
According  to  Coues,  the  gnat-catcher  spends  days  in 
such  incessant  activity  as  that  which  I  noted,  "till 
other  impulses  are  stimulated  with  the  warmth  of  the 
advancing  season,  and  the  sharp  accents  of  the  voice 
are  modulated  into  sweet  and  tender  song,  so  low  as 
to  be  inaudible  at  any  considerable  distance,  yet  so 


78  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

faultlessly  executed  and  so  well  sustained  that  the  tiny 
musician  may  claim  no  mean  rank  in  the  feathered 
choir." 

Each  pair,  after  mating,  seek  some  tree  with  a  gray- 
ish bark,  usually  an  oak,  maple  or  apple,  and  finding 
a  horizontal  limb  or  convenient  fork,  they  begin  their 
nest,  building  it  principally  from  hair  and  the  fine 
fibres  of  various  plants  which  they  weave  very  closely 
and  compactly  together.  Finally  they  cover  the  whole 
with  a  coat  of  lichens,  fastening  them  on  with  the 
finest  of  wool  or  the  silk  of  spiders'  webs.  This 
lichen  covering  serves  the  useful  purpose  of  &  mask, 
rendering  the  color  of  the  nest  almost  exactly  that  of 
the  bark  of  the  tree  on  which  it  is  built ;  thus  hiding 
it  from  the  keen  eye  of  the  young  oologist  walking 
beneath,  or  the  keener  eye  of  the  crow  or  hawk  flying 
above.  But  there  is  one  eye  sharp  enough  to  detect 
it.  For  no  matter  how  deep  and  dark  the  ravine  in 
which  a  nest  is  hidden  away ;  no  matter  what  aid  of 
nature  has  been  called  into  use  In  rendering  it  incon- 
spicuous to  the  view  of  other  animals,  necessity  seems 
to  lend  a  preternatural  sharpness  to  the  vision  of  the 
female  cow-bird,  enabling  her  to  discover,  whenever 
needed,  a  safe  place  of  deposit  for  an  egg,  destined  to 
become  at  no  distant  day  an  orphan  which  will  be  a 
heavy  burden  to  its  foster  parents. 

The  nest  of  the  blue-gray  gnat-catcher  when  com- 
pleted, is  usually  very  small,  and  is  cylindrical  in  form, 
not  hemispherical,  like  that  of  most  other  birds.  One 
which  contained  five  eggs,  taken  on  the  2nd  of  last 
May,  was  but  5{  inches  in  circumferenc'e  by  2|  inches 
in  length,  and  weighed  only  3.7  grams.  But  the  cow- 


.  A  FEATHERED  MIDGET  AND  ITS  NEST.        79 

bird  cares  nothing  for  the  size  or  form  of  the  chosen 
asylum  for  her  young.  If  it  is  only  large  enough  for 
one  egg,  it  is  sufficient  for  her  wants,  and  she  forth- 
with appropriates  it  to  her  use  without  even  a  "-by 
your  leave"  to  the  rightful  owners.  And  so,  very 
often,  among  four  or  five  delicate  little  gnat-catchers, 
there  is  found  a  large  chuffy  youngster,  whose  demand 
for  food  is  incessant,  and  if  supplied  in  sufficient 
quantity,  he  will  in  a  day  or  two  fill  the  entire  nest, 


Fig.  20-Cow-bird. 

and  smother  beneath  his  greater  bulk  the  lives  of  the 
rightful  occupants.  It  is  one  of  those  numerous  cases 
of  a  struggle  for  existence  in  which  the  most  over- 
bearing, ugliest  and  strongest  survives,  instead  of  the 
fittest. 

•  However,  I  suppose  that  the  modern  evolutionist 
would  say,  that  in  this  case  ugliness  and  brute  strength 
are  necessary  qualities  of  the  "  fittest,"  and  that  nature 
has  ordained  that  the  cow-birds  shall  increase  in  num- 


80  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

bers  as  the  millionaires  of  to-day  grow  in  wealth,  only 
at  the  expense  of  their  weaker  brethren. 

But  one — or  rather  two — cow-birds'  eggs  laid  last 
season  did  not  hatch,  and  it  was  of  them  that  I  started 
to  write.  On  the  22nd  of  April,  while  out  for  a  walk, 
I  discovered  a  pair  of  gnat-catchers  building  about 
thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  in  a  maple  tree.  A  week 
later,  on  passing  near  the  spot,  I  saw  that  the  nest 
had  assumed  massive  proportions  for  one  of  that 
species,  and  on  climbing  up  to  investigate,  found  that 
it  contained  a  single  cow-bird's  egg.  The  owners, 
however,  had  not  deserted  it,  for  they  soon  appeared, 
circling  rapidly  around,  and  uttering  their  shrill  cries 
of  distress.  I  left  them  immediately,  merely  suppos- 
ing that  they  were  young  birds,  not  fully  up  to  the 
times  in  nest  building,  and  therefore  had  formed  a 
large,  loosely-constructed  nest,  instead  of  a  small  com- 
pact one,  as  is  usually  the  case. 

On  the  5th  of  May  I  again  visited  the  tree,  and 
found  that  the  birds  had  abandoned  the  nest  without 
laying  in  it,  and  were  building  a  new  one  in  the  top 
of  a  tall  oak  a  short  distance  away.  Removing  the 
old  nest  carefully,  I  carried  it  home  in  order  to  com- 
pare more  closely  its  size  with  the  one  taken  a  few 
days  before.  On  measuring  it  carefully  I  found  its 
circumference  to  be  9J  inches ;  its  length,  4|  inches ; 
and  its  weight  12  grams,  or  about  3  J  times  that  of  the 
one  first  taken.  Judge  of  my  surprise  when,  on  ex- 
amining it  thoroughly,  I  found  that  it  was  a  double 
nest,  or  rather  a  "two  story"  one.  The  lower  part, 
or  first  floor,  was  neatly  and  closely  built,  and  in  it 
found  a  second  cow- bird's  egg.  It  had  evidently 


A  FEATHERED  MIDGET  AND  ITS  NEST.         81 

been  laid  shortly  before  the  nest  had  reached  the 
usual  size  of  such  structures,  and  the  builders,  on  dis- 
covering it,  had  immediately  set  to  work  and  covered 
it  entirely  over,  and  then  built  up  the  sides  of  their 
house  about  2J  inches  higher.  This  upper  portion 
was  very  loosely  constructed,  and  had  evidently  been 
built  in  a  hurry  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  case. 
But,  alas,  for  the  expectations  of  our  feathered  friends  ! 
No  sooner  had  the  second  floor  neared  completion 
than  Mrs.  Cow-bird  paid  them  another  visit,  and  left 
behind  her  a  reminder  in  the  shape  of  a  new  egg. 
This  was  too  much  for  bird  endurance.  The  gnat- 
catchers  deserted  in  disgust  the  home  over  which  they 
had  spent  so  many  anxious  moments,  and  set  to  work 
to  build  a  new  one,  in  which,  let  us  hope,  they  reared 
their  little  family  unmolested  by  unwelcome  guests. 


MID-SUMMER  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL. 


Shady  groves,  green  grass,  wild  flowers,  and  the 
sweet  songs  of  our  native  birds  in  their  chosen  haunts 
— who  in  the  hot  and  dusty  days  of  mid-summer  does 
not  dream  of  such  delights?  True,  parks  there  are, 
Collett's.  and  Forest,  easy  of  access  both,  and  each 
with  its  own  peculiar  charms,  but  for  him  who  likes  a 
degree  of  privacy  the  crowds  which  gather  there  with 
their  bustle  and  noise  savor  too  much  of  those  to  be 
seen  daily  on  the  streets  of  the  city. 

To  many  persons,  and  especially  to  any  one  inter- 
ested in  the  objects  and  doings  of  nature,  there  comes 
at  times  an  irresistible  desire  to  leave,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, all  signs  of  civilization ;  to  plunge,  as  it  were, 
into  a  wilderness  and  spend  an  hour,  a  day,  or  a  week 
in  solitude.  To  a  resident  of  Terre  Haute,  one  of  the 
best  and  most  accessible  places  for  such  a  day's  out- 
ing is  along  the  old  W abash  and  Erie  Canal  between 
Conover's  and  the  Five  Mile  Pond.  True,  it  is  not  a 
wilderness,  but  there  is  many  a  shady  nook  and  quiet, 
secluded  spot  where  one  may  rest  free  from  interrup- 
tion .and  enjoy  the  pleasing  odors  of  wild  flowers 
and  the  songs  of  sweet  singing  birds.  On  a  recent 
date,  a  day  hot,  sultry,  and  disagreeable  in  the  im- 
pure air  of  the  city,  I  sought  this  favorite  resort  of 
mine,  and  it  is  of  the  birds  I  saw  and  heard,  the  flow- 
ers I  met  with,  and  a  few  of  the  thoughts  which 

(82) 


MID- SUMMER  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL.         83 

welled  up  and  were  snatched  from  oblivion  by  a  ready 
pencil,  that  the  present  article  has  to  do. 

By  street  railway  to  Collett's  Park,  and  then  west- 
ward by  the  gravel  pit  road,  one  reaches  the  canal  at 
one  of  its  loveliest  points  near  the  southern  edge  of 
Conover's  Pond.  At  the  gravel  pit  I  stopped  awhile 
and  saw  the  puny  power  of  a  single  man  gradually 
undoing  what  the  mighty  glaciers  of  the  "  Great  Ice 
Age  "  had  done  long  centuries  ago.  Pebbles  of  man- 
ifold kinds  and  sizes  were  being  exposed  once  more 
to  the  sunlight  after  being  hidden  from  it  for — how 
many  thousand  years  ?  The  iron  pick  wielded  by  the 
workman  pulled  each  from  among  its  fellows  and  dis- 
turbed the  quiet  which  had  reigned  with  them  since 
that  former  day  when,  after  years  of  rolling,  crush- 
ing, onward  movement,  they  had  been  dropped,  by 
the  melting  of  a  mighty  bulk  of  ice,  on  the  spot 
where  they  had  since  lain.  And  now  they  must  be 
carried  out  to  do  duty  for  man  ;  to  receive  the  crush- 
ing effects  of  his  wheels  of  iron,  and,  perhaps,  by 
them  be  crumbled  into  dust  after  having  successfully 
resisted  the  giant  powers  of  the  glaciers  of  long  ago. 

Ah,  the  grandeur  of  the  work  which  has  been  done 
by  nature's  forces  in  the  past  for  the  benefit  of  the 
races  of  the  present!  The  sunlight  of  the  old  Car- 
boniferous age  did  a  work  which  now  turns  the  wheels 
of  industry  throughout  the  world  and  the  glaciers 
brought  from  afar  the  materials  for  our  roadways  and 
deposited  them  where  they  would  be  needed,  yea,  at 
the  thresholds  of  our  very  doors. 

Beyond  the  gravel  pit,  where  in  June  glistened  the 
waters  of  a  broad,  spreading  pond,  now  gleamed  in 


84  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

* 

the  August  sunshine  the  golden  yellow  rays  of  the 
bur-marigold.  Acre  upon  acre 'of  them  nodded  to 
me  from  afar,  while  at  my  feet,  on  the  roadside,  their 
western  cousin,  the  fetid  marigold,  made  known  its 
presence,  not  so  much  by  its  rays,  which  are  few  and 
small,  as  by  its  disagreeable  odor  which  is  its  most 
significant  sign. 

Down  into  the  field  of  marigolds  I  took  my  way, 
desiring  to  meet  them  face  to  face  and  learn  what  they 
had  to  say  of  the  summer's  haps  and  mishaps.  As 
seen  from  the  brow  of  the  hill  all  appeared  to  be  mari- 
golds, but  when  among  them  much  of  the  yellow  was 
found  to  be  due  to  another  handsome  Composites  with 
a  homely  name,  the  sneeze-weed.  The  land  on  which 
they  grow  was  formerly  cultivated  but  of  late  years 
has  been  overflowed  in  spring,  the  water  standing  on 
the  ground  each  season  until  June.  The  owner, 
therefore,  has  turned  the  land  over  to  these  wild 
plants,  and  how  they  revel  in  their  freedom !  What 
a  struggle  among  them  for  existence  now  that  man's 
hand  is  not  among  their  enemies!  Two  species  of 
marigolds,  one  devoid  of  ray  flowers,  the  other  with 
the  showy  golden-yellow  rays;  two  of  smartweed, 
one  cocklebur,  the  sneeze-weed,  and  the  fog-fruit,  the 
last  a  handsome  creeping  member  of  the  Verbena 
family — all  growing  in  this  damp  rich  soil  in  such 
luxuriance  as  to  literally  hide  the  surface  of  the  earth 
from  view.  Which  will  be  successful  at  the  close  of 
the  struggle  ?  Which,  in  five,  ten,  or  fifty  years,  will 
be  master  of  the  soil?  Perchance  a  stranger  from 
some  western  plain  or  from  one  of  Europe's  vales  will 
then  have  come  and  by  its  properties  of  prolificness 


MID-SUMMER  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL.         85 

and  endurance  have  driven  out  these  native  plants 
and  in  the  end  become  the  victor  of  them  all. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  the  beauty 
of  the  cardinal  flower  but  not  too  much,  for  among 
all  our  wild  plants  which  bloom  from  August  to  Oc- 
tober it  ranks  without  a  peer  for  brilliancy  of  color 
and  gracefulness  of  form.  And  so,  when  amidst  the 
tall  rank  grasses  near  the  margin  of  the  pond  I  came 
suddenly  upon  several  of  them,  their  bright  red  pen- 
nons contrasted  so  vividly  with  the  omnipresent  yel- 
low of  the  sneeze-weed  and  the  marigold — their  purity 
and  beauty  seemed  so  enhanced  by  their  surroundings 
that  I  could  but  fall  upon  my  knees  and  do  them  rev- 
erent homage. 

Reaching  at  last  the  old  tow-path  of  the  canal  I 
threw  myself  down  in  a  shady  bower  and  gave  way  to 
revery.  The  time  was  when  the  tandem  mules  by 
scores  passed  daily  over  the  very  spot  where  I  now  sat. 
Then,  busy  commerce  reigned  supreme  and  man,  bow- 
ing to  her  imperious  demands,  carried  by  the  produce 
of  the  world.  Woolens  and  silks,  lumber- and  iron, 
coffee  and  teas,  drugs  and  spices,  indeed  all  the  varied 
articles  needed  by  a  young  and  growing  common- 
wealth, went  up  and  down  this  artificial  road  of  water. 

Now,  how  changed!  Commerce  no  longer,  but 
nature  reigns  supreme.  The  tow-path  is  covered  with 
the  saplings  of  eljn,  ash,  red-bud,  and  sycamore  of 
fifteen  to  twenty  year's  growth.  Wild  birds  of  many 
species  surrounded  me  on  every  side.  From  the  top- 
most twig  of  a  stately  elm  a  southern  mocking-bird 
sang  for  me  a  delightful  medley  of  mimicry.  It 
seemed  as  though  a  dozen  different  birds  joined  in  the 


86 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


song;  the  notes  of  the  cat-bird,  jay  and  thrasher, 
chewink,  pewee  and  robin,  being  each  easily  recog- 
nized as  components  of  the  medley. 

As  the  clouds  banked  up  in  the  west  and  north  a 
turtle  dove  cooed  softly  above  my  head.  A  rain  crow 
in  a  neighboring  oak  uttered  his  harsh  refrain  about 
the  rain  that  was  sure  to  come.  Bob-white,  in  a  stub- 
ble tield  on  the  hill  above,  whistled  &t  intervals  his 


Fig.  21— Southern  Mocking-bird.    (After  Judd.) 

summer  note.  A  yellow-breasted  chat  in  a  near-by 
thorn  tree  scolded  incessantly,  as  only  a  chat  can  scold, 
at  my  intrusion  on  his  domain ;  while,  blithest  of  all,. 
was  the  song  of  the  indigo-bun  ting  and  the  merry 
warble  of  the  vireos  which  were  heard  on  every  side. 
Such  sounds  as  these  were  uncommon  here  forty 
years  ago.  The  silence  of  the  treeless  tow-path  was 
then  seldom  broken  except  by  the  mule  boy's  "gee, 
ga-lang  there,"  or  "git  up,  gol-dern  ye." 


MID-SUMMER  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL. 


87 


But  the  canal  became  too  slow  for  our  advancing 
civilization.  The  iron  horse  took  the  place  of  the 
mule.  The  engineer  in  bluejacket  and  overalls  with 
smoke  begrimed  face  and  oily  hands,  that  of  the  mule 
boy.  The  ungainly  canal  boat  with  its  snail-like  pace 
has  been  succeeded  by  the  "limited  express,"  which 
follows  not  the  winding  course  of  a  water  pathway, 


Fig.22-Rain  Crow  or  Yellow-billed  Cuckoo.    (After  Beal.) 

but  dashes  onward  over  hill  and  mountain,  through 
valley  and  plain,  on  a  smooth  and  even  steel  track ; 
while  the  "gee,  whoa-haw"  of  the  canal  boy  has  given 
place  to  the  shrill  toot  of  the  locomotive. 

Many  seeds  of  many  weeds  and  old-fashioned 
flowers  were  scattered  along  the  tow-path  in  those  old 
days.  Now  their  descendants  are  seen  in  many  places, 


88  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

flourishing  and  blooming  more  luxuriantly  than  if 
cultivated  by  the  hand  of  man. 

Ah,  those  "old  fashioned"  flowers,  as  we  call  them, 
how  they  bring  up  the  memories  of  long  ago !  Of  a 
country  garden  and  door-yard  where  the  "  bouncing 
bets,"  "butter  and  eggs,"  "holly-hocks"  and  "lark- 
spurs" gave  forth  their  beauty  and  their  odors  to 
entrance  our  childish  mind,  and,  in  the  innocence  of 
childhood,  were  thought  to  be  the  handsomest  flowers 
that  grew.  To-day  they  are  still  attractive.  Not  by 
comparison  with  other  and  newer  friends  among  the 
flowers  which  are  far  more  beautiful  than  they ; 
but  because  they  ever  recall  the  memories  of  yore 
when  the  struggle  for  our  existence  was  borne  by 
other  hands  and  each  day  brought  its  round  of 
pleasures  unshadowed  by  any  thought  of  the  mor- 
row. 

Other  plants  there  are  in  abundance  along  the  old 
canal  which  man,  in  his  ignorance,  calls  "homely 
weeds,"  ne'er  seeing  their  smaller  points  of  usefulness 
or  beauty.  Among  these  is  the  mullein  with  its  long 
spikes  of  yellow  flowers  and  thick  velvety  leaves. 
Those  near  its  base,  now  withered  and  dry,  last  win- 
ter formed  a  beautiful  rosette  close  to  the  ground  and 
gave  shelter  and  protection  to  many  an  insect  both 
beneficial  and  injurious.  Along  waysides  and  the 
borders  of  barren  fields  the  mullein  has  its  favorite 
home.  Ever  an  evidence  of  the  presence  of  man,  to- 
day it  finds  a  congenial  lurking  place  along  the  path- 
way of  his  former  road  of  water. 

Milkweeds,  too,  flourish  there  in  great  profusion  and 
often  reach  a  height  of  six  feet  or  more.  Their  hand- 


MID-tSUMMEE  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL.         89 

some  umbels  of  purple  flowers  are  very  attractive  but 
prove  a  veritable  death  trap  to  many  a  bee  and 
unwary  insect  which  visits  them  in  search  of  honey. 
For  the  pollen  of  each  flower,  instead  of  being  in 
numerous  small  grains,  as  is  usual  in  other  plants,  is 
massed  into  a  few  waxy  and  adhesive  bunches ; 
and  is  so  arranged  that  when  an  insect  touches  a 
certain  point  the  pollen  mass  moves  suddenly  up- 
ward and  clings  by  a  slender  stalk  to  the  leg  of  the 
visitor. 

If,  as  sometimes  happens,  a  mass  adheres  to  each  of 
three  or  four  of  its  legs  the  unhappy  insect  is  so 
encumbered  that  it  cannot  move  and  so  remains  a  pris- 
oner until  death.  Almost  every  insect  which  leaves  a 
bunch  of  milkweed  flowers  carries  away  one  or  more 
of  the  waxen  masses,  and  as  it  goes  immediately  to 
an  adjacent  bunch,  cross  fertilization  is  thus  more 
readily  and  surely  accomplished  than  by  ordinary 
methods  of  pollen  distribution. 

Queen  of  all  our  creeping  or  trailing  shrubs  is  the 
trumpet  creeper  with  its  large  pinnate  leaves  rivaling 
the  emerald  in  their  shade  of  green,  and  its  giant 
trumpet-like  flowers  so  attractive  to  humming  bird 
and  humble-bee.  Mid-summer  is  the  time,  and  the 
banks  of  the  old  canal  the  place,  to  see  this  creeper  in 
all  its  primitive  beauty.  There  the  soil  is  congenial 
and  bush  and  shrub  furnish  a  ready  support  to  which 
its  aerial  rootlets  freely  cling,  thus  forming  many  a 
snug  retreat  in  which  the  nest  of  woodland  songster 
is  securely  hidden. 

Numerous  other  wild  flowers,  many  of  which  are 
as  deserving  of  praise  as  those  above  mentioned,  are 


90  GLEANINGS  FROM  NA TUBE. 

now  blooming  along  the  old  canal ;  for  at  this 
its  hanks 

"  Are  gay  with  golden  rod, 

There  blooming  grasses  nod, 
And  sunflowers  small  and  yellow  turn  ever  to  the  sun; 

Quaint  darky-heads  are  there, 

And  daisies  wild  and  fair, 
In  everybody's  garden  each  flower's  the  loveliest  one." 

Space  forbids  the  detailed  mention  of  others.  Go, 
my  reader,  and  see  them  for  yourself.  The  flowers 
and  birds  and  bugs  are  there,  and  one  has  but  to  open 
eye  and  ear  to  see  and  hear  them.  One  warning, 
however,  before  you  go.  The  only  way  to  thoroughly 
enjoy  and  be  benefited  by  any  outing  is  to  leave  all 
business  cares  and  responsibilities  behind.  Think 
not  for  a  single  moment  of  the  time  lost,  the  dollars 
slipping  away  during  the  absence  from  the  store,  the 
office  or  the  shop.  For  the  time  being  let  "by-gones 
be  by-gones "  and  "  to-comes  be  to-comes."  Yield 
only  to  the  pleasures  of  the  present.  Dream  only  of 
the  duties  of  the  day.  Strive  to  gain  rest,  knowledge 
and  inspiration  from  the  objects  met  with,  and  enjoy- 
ment and  benefits,  not  to  be  measured  by  dimes  or 
dollars,  will  be  yours. 


THE   IRON-WEED. 


Belonging  to  the  great.  Composite  family  of  plants 
are  many  of  our  worst  weeds,  such  as  the  rag-weed, 
horse-weed,  white-top,  thistle,  burdock,  and  last  but 
not  least,  that  scourge  of  our  blue-grass  pastures— 
the  iron-weed.  The  name,  Composites,  is  given  to  the 
family  from  the  fact  that  its  members  have  their 
small,  yet  perfect  flowers  densely  crowded  together 
into  a  head,  which  is  enclosed  by  an  involucre  or  cup 
formed  of  several  circles  of  modified  leaves  called 
"bracts";  this  involucre  performing  the  same  pro- 
tective function  for  the  compound  mass  that  the  calyx 
or  outer  green  envelope  does  for  the  ordinary  sepa- 
rate flowers  of  other  families.  The  object  of  this 
massing  together  of  a  great  number  of.  small  flowers 
into  a  large  head  is  that  they  may  more  easily  and 
certainly  attract  the  attention  of  insects  and  thus 
secure  their  fertilization.  Taken  singly,  the  flowers 
are  too  small  and  inconspicuous  to  attract  separate 
attention,  but  by  huddling  themselves  together  into  a 
showy  mass  they  have  proven  themselves  very  suc- 
cessful plants ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  the  family  is 
now  the  largest  known  in  the  vegetable  world. 

Many  of  the  Compositce,  as  the  sunflowers  and  asters, 
have  the  outer  flowers  of  the  head  enlarged  into  the 
so-called  "  rays,"  thus  increasing  their  showiness,  while 

(91) 


92 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


those  which  have  no  rays,  but  which  have  all  the 
flowers  of  the  head  alike,  are  said  to  be  "  discoid." 

Pre-eminent  among  the  latter  group,  on  account  of 
their  size,  abundance  and  hardiness,  are  the  plants 
known  as  iron-weeds — two  species  of  which — Verno- 
nia  fasciculata  Mich.,  and  Vernonia  noveboracensis  (L.), 


Fig.  23— Iron-weed.    (After  Britton.) 

are  found  in  Indiana.  However,  the  two  are  so  nearly 
alike  that  none  but  the  practical  botanist  can  dis- 
tinguish them,  and  hence  they  will  be  spoken  of  in  this 
connection  as  one. 

In  the  latter  part  of  August,  1887,  I  spent  a  day  in 
a  large  woodland  pasture  in  central  Indiana.     The 


THE  IEON-WEED.  93 

effects  of  the  noted  drought  of  that  season  were  then 
visible  in  all  directions.  Vegetation  every-where  was 
dying  or  dead.  All  nature  had  put  on  an  unwonted 
garb  whose  prevailing  color  was  brown.  The  grass 
of  the  meadow  had  been  cured  into  hay  before  it  was 
cut.  The  leaves  of  the  maple  and  beech  were  shriv- 
eled and  dying.  No  blue  lobelias  greeted,  as  in 
Augusts  gone  by,  my  wandering  footsteps.  'No  cardi- 
nal flowers  waved  their  red  pennons  above  the  sedges 
of  the  swamp,  for  both  swamp  and  sedges  were  things 
of  the  past.  Only  the  coarse  iron-weed  with  its  cyme 
of  purple  flowers  seemed  to  be  flourishing  in  the 
parched,  dry  soil ;  holding  its  own  where  all  else  was 
perishing — thus  proving  itself  well  worthy  its  name — 
tough  and  indestructible  as  iron. 

In  the  great  contest  for  supremacy  forever  going  on 
among  all  plants  as  well  as  among  all  animals,  the 
rag-weed,  fox-tail,  white-top,  etc.,  go  down  before  the 
creeping,  smothering  power  of  the  Kentucky  blue- 
grass  ;  but  this  rough,  ungainly  weed  ne'er  gives  up 
the  struggle,  and  in  many  places  grows  as  rankly  in  the 
farmer's  best  lowland  pastures  as  does  its  cousin,  the 
greater  rag-weed  or  horse-weed,  along  the  margins  of 
his  cultivated  bottom  fields.  It  is  seemingly  becoming 
more  abundant  each  year,  and  at  present  is  undoubt- 
edly the  worst  weed  with  which  the  stock  farmers  of 
Indiana  have  to  contend.  Let  us  note  briefly  some  of 
the  characters  which  render  it  so  tenacious  of  life  and 
so  difficult  of  extermination. 

Its  perennial  roots  are  stout  and  fibrous,  and  each 
autumn  are  filled  with  a  sufficient  supply  of  nourish- 
ment to  give  the  stalk  of  the  ensuing  year  a  good 


94  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATUEE. 

start  in  life.  They  radiate  in  all  directions  from  the 
base  of  the  stem,  spreading  over  an  area  of  several 
square  yards  and  penetrating  the  soil  in  search  of 
moisture  to  such  a  depth  as  to  render  abortive  any 
attempt  of  man  to  pull  the  plant  up  bodily,  roots  and 
all.  In  rich  soil  the  stem  grows  to  a  height  of  six  to 
eight  feet  and  is  leafy  to  the  top.  The  leaves  are 
linear  to  lanceolate-oblong  in  shape,  sharply  toothed, 
and  so  innutritions  that  none  of  the  higher  animals, 
not  even  the  sheep,  will  feed  upon  them. 

The  only  insect  enemies  of  the  plant,  so  far  as  noticed, 
are  the  black  blister  beetle  which  attacks  the  leaves 
when  other  food  is  scarce,  and  a  small  gall  fly  whose 
larvae  feed  upon  the  juices  of  the  flowering  branches. 

Many  species  of  bumble-bees  and  butterflies  visit  its 
blossoms  in  search  of  nectar  and  pollen,  and  thus  aid 
materially  in  their  fertilization.  The  flowers  in  each 
head  number,  on  an  average,  twenty -five,  each  of 
which  produces  a  single  seed.  On  one  specimen  of 
medium  size  were  counted  743  heads,  so  that  18,575 
seeds,  each  capable  of  becoming  a  fully  developed 
iron-weed,  were  borne  by  that  plant  alone,  and  the 
majority  produce  as  many,  or  more.  To  secure  a 
broad  dissemination  each  of  these  seeds  bears  at  matu- 
rity a  tuft  of  light  brown  bristles  known  as  the  pap- 
pus, and  by  its  aid  the  seed  may  be  wafted  by  the  wind 
miles  away  from  the  parent  plant.  Again,  as  the 
iron-weed  grows  in  greatest  luxuriance  in  the  lowland 
pastures  near  small  streams,  many  of  the  seeds  fall 
upon  the  water  and  are  borne  onward  till  they  lodge 
against  some  bank  or  are  buried  in  the  sediment 
deposited  by  an  overflow ;  places  well  suited  for  their 


THE  IRON-WEED.  95 

future  growth.  In  these  ways  the  weed  is  continually 
spreading  into  pastures  which  heretofore  have  been 
entirely  free  from  it.  Taking  into  consideration  that 
it  is  a  native  plant,  and  therefore  well  suited  to  our 
soil ;  the  character  of  its  roots ;  the  immense  number 
of  seeds  produced;  the  modes  of  their  dissemination, 
and  its  almost  total  exemption  from  the  attacks  of 
injurious  insects,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  is  so  well 
able,  not  only  to  hold  its  own  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  but  also  to  increase  in  numbers  from  year 
to  year. 

As  to  the  methods  of  extermination,  many  have 
been  tried,  but,  too  often,  in  Vain.  One  which  can  be 
relied  upon,  but  which  in  many  cases  is  impracticable, 
and  moreover  is  fatal  to  the  pasture  as  well  as  to  the 
iron-weed,  is  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Continued  stir- 
ring among  its  roots  the  plant  cannot  withstand  and 
so  soon  succumbs  before  the  onslaught  of  the  plow 
and  the  hoe.  Many  persons  believe  that  cutting  the 
weed  during  the  flowering  season  will  destroy  it,  but 
they  have  their  labor  for  their  pains,  its  roots  being 
perennial,  and  the  plant  being,  therefore,  not  dependent 
upon  the  seed  to  carry  it  over  the  winter.  One  farmer 
assured  me  that  he  had  mowed  the  iron-weeds  from 
his  pasture  every  August  for  17  years,  and  that  they 
were  still  as  abundant  as  ever.  Another,  after  mowing 
for  years,  went  to  work  and  grubbed  them  out,  but 
failed,  of  course,  to  remove  all  the  pieces  of  roots  from 
the  ground  and  the  crop  of  the  next  season  was  not 
appreciably  diminished.  A  third  has  very  nearly 
solved  the  problem  of  their  extermination,  and  it  is  to 
his  experience  that  I  wish  to  call  especial  attention. 


96  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

He  has  a  pasture  of  80  acres,  and  at  present  it  takes 
but  two  hours'  mowing,  twice  or  three  times  a  year, 
to  rid  it  of  the  weed;  whereas,  just  across  the  way  is 
a  pasture  where  it  holds  undisputed  sway  from  May 
to  August. 

This  third  farmer  had  studied  botany  and  knew 
that  all  plants  have  their  food  assimilated,  that  is, 
fitted  for  their  use,  in  their  leaves.  The  crude  food 
materials,  carbon-dioxide,  water,  and  various  nitrates 
and  other  salts  in  a  soluble  form,  are  gathered  from 
the  air  and  the  earth  by  the  leaves  and  roots;  but  in 
the  leaves  alone  these  materials  undergo  certain  chem- 
ical changes  and  are  transformed  into  starch  and  other 
foods  which  can  be  used  directly  by  the  plant  in  its 
growth.  Any  excess,  not  needed  for  growth,  is  stored 
up  in  the  seeds,  buds,  under-ground  stems  and  roots, 
for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  the  young  plant  or  the 
growing  shoot  sufficient  nourishment,  to  live  upon 
while  it  is  developing  leaves  which  in  time  will  gather 
and  assimilate  a  new  supply  of  food. 

This  farmer,  knowing  all  these  facts,  reasoned  that 
if  he  cut  his  iron-weeds  in  May,  again  in  June,  and 
still  a  third  time  in  July,  the  perennial  roots  would 
not  be  filled  with  nourishment  at  the  end  of  the  season, 
as  their  extra  supply  would  be  needed  to  start  new 
shoots  each  time  the  old  ones  were  destroyed.  More- 
over, the  leaves  would  not  have  time  sufficient  to  pro- 
duce much  excess  of  food  to  be  stored  up  in  the  roots, 
as  all  their  powers  would  be  taxed  to  furnish  food  for 
the  rapid  growth  necessary  for  the  new  shoot  to  arrive 
at  maturity  before  the  season  was  over.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  act  upon  his  conclusions  with  the  above 


THE  IBON-WEED.  97 

mentioned  result.  The  perennial  roots  of  the  old 
weeds  weakened  and  in  time  died,  and  the  only  ones 
which  he  now  has  to  keep  down  are  those  which  each 
year  spring  from  seed  grown  in  other  places.  The 
work  of  mowing  the  weeds  three  or  four  times  a  year, 
at  first  a  difficult  one,  gradually  became  less  and  his 
pasture  was  in  time  almost  redeemed  from  the  scourge 
which  had  rendered  it  comparatively  worthless.  On 
the  other  hand  his  neighbor,  who  lets  the  weeds  grow 
until  August  and  store  up  a  good  supply  of  nourish- 
ment in  the  roots,  not  only  loses  the  summer's  pasture 
but  retains  the  weeds  from  year  to  year. 

It  has  been  said  that  all  things  in  nature  have  their 
use — that  nothing  exists  but  for  a  purpose.  It  is  the 
work  of  science  to  discover  and  make  known  the  use 
of  nature's  objects  •  and  day  by  day  her  secrets  are 
gradually  being  exposed,  thereby  advancing  man  in 
civilization,  by  enabling  him  to  better  control  th'e 
ravages  of  those  existing  forms  which  are  injurious  to 
his  interests.  If,  however,  the  iron-weed  has  a  use, 
other  than  that  shown  in  the  beauty  of  its  flowers,  no 
one  has  yet  discovered  it.  But  there  is  time;  for  of 
the  thousands  of  plant  forms  which  exist,  we  know 
the  uses  of  only  a  few,  as  corn  and  hemp,  ginseng  and 
blood-root.  Let  us  hope  that  some  valuable  medicinal 
or  other  property  will  soon  be  discovered  in  the  iron- 
weed  and  a  reason  for  its  existence  thereby  pointed 
out  to  the  doubting  humanity  of  the  present. 

Meanwhile  the  naturalist  will  go  on  admiring  the 

beauty  of  its  bloom ;  for  however  coarse  and  repulsive 

the  stem  and  leaves  may  appear,  yet  each  head,  with 

its  25  or  30  dainty  florets  so  prettily  grouped  within 

7 


98  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

their  protective  cup,  reveals  a  striking  beauty  to  the 
true  lover  of  nature.  And  when  in  the  glamour  of  an 
August  morn  he  stands  upon  a  hillside  and  views 
acre  upon  acre  of  the  broad  purple  cymes  waving  in 
the  valley  beneath,  all  memories  of  the  plant  as  a  per- 
nicious weed  are  blotted  from  his  mind  by  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  scene  before  him. 


VIII. 


WASHINGTON'S  MONUMENT,  MAREKGO  CAVE. 
(See  page  133.) 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES  AND  THE  ANIMALS 
WHICH  INHABIT  THEM. 


Caves  are  uncanny  places.  So  thinks  the  average 
person,  when,  for  the  first  time,  he  stands  in  the  en- 
trance of  one  of  these  under-ground  cavities  and 
glances  along  its  walls  of  stone  until  his  gaze  reaches 
the  point  where  the  shadowy  rays  grow  dim  and 
eternal  darkness  begins.  The  chilly  current  of  air 
which  comes  rushing  forth,  and  the  solemn  silence 
of  the  depths  beyond,  beget  a  sensation  of  awe  which 
it  is  difficult  to  suppress.  Only  a  long  experience  in 
traversing  subterranean  passages  will  accustom  a  per- 
son to  their  surroundings  and  enable  him  to  enter  a 
cavern  with  anything  like  that  degree  of  indifference 
with  which  he  passes  from  daylight  into  the  darkened 
rooms  of  a  dwelling. 

In  the  mind  of  the  naturalist  who  is  a  tyro  in  cave 
exploration,  there  is  mingled  with  this  feeling  of  awe 
one  of  great  expectancy.  He  hopes  to  add  some  new 
and  wonderful  facts  to  his  store  of  knowledge.  An- 
other world  is  to  be  opened  up  before  him.  He  is  to 
travel  through  passageways  worn  in  solid  stone  by 
the  slow  eroding  power  of  water.  He  is  to  see  in 
actual  process  of  formation  those  pendent  stalactites 
of  creamy,  crystalline  calcite  of  which  he  has  often 
read.  He  is  to  meet  for  the  first  time  whole  races  of 

(99) 


100  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

animals  bereft  of  the  sense  of  sight.  To  him,  there- 
fore, the  under-ground  journey  promises  much  more 
than  to  the  ordinary  observer  who  makes  it  mainly  for 
the  novelty  and  the  scenery  which  it  affords. 

The  Sub-carboniferous  Limestone  area  of  southern 
Indiana  contains  many  sink-holes  and  caves  within 
its  bounds.  This  area  is,  for  the  most  part,  embraced 
in  the  counties  of  Owen,  Monroe,  Lawrence,  Wash- 
ington, Orange,  Harrison  and  Crawford.  Going 
southward  from  the  center  of  the  State,  the  sink- 
holes first  become  a  prominent  feature  of  the  surface 
in  eastern  Owen  and  western  Morgan  counties,  and 
are  found  in  numbers  thereafter,  in  the  area  mentioned, 
until  the  Ohio  River  is  reached,  beyond  which,  in 
Kentucky,  they  are  said  to  be  still  more  numerous,  in 

many  portions  of  that  State  averaging 
Sink-holes.  rp,  .    ,to 

100  to  the  square  mile.  Ihese  sink- 
holes vary  much  in  size,  sometimes  being  but  a  rod  or 
two  across,  and  again  embracing  several  acres  in 
extent.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  inverted  cones 
or  funnel-shaped  cavities,  and,  where  small,  usually 
have  the  sides  covered  with  a  matted  growth  of  vines 
and  shrubs.  Where  larger,  trees  of  varying  size  are 
often  found  growing  from  the  scanty  soil  on  the  sides 
or  from  the  bottom  of  the  sink.  If  one  will  examine 
closely  the  lowest  point  of  a  sink-hole,  he  will  usually 
find  a  crevice  or  fissure  through  the  limestone,  or 
sometimes  a  large  opening  which,  if  it.  be  possible  to 
enter,  will  be  found  to  lead  to  an  under-ground  cavity 
— a  cave. 

Both  sink-holes  and  caves  not  only  owe  their  origin, 
but  usually  their  entire  formation,  to  the  slow,  unceas- 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  101 

ing  action  of  rain  qr  carbonated  water  upon  the  lime- 
stone strata  in  which  they  occur. 

Carbon  dioxide  is  present  everywhere  in  the  atmos- 
phere, constituting  about  three  parts  in  10,000  of  the 
volume  thereof.  The  condensed  vapors,  falling  as 
rain,  unite  with  a  portion  of  this  carbon  dioxide,  and 
form  a  weak  carbonic  acid  or  rain-water.  Wherever 
this  comes  in  contact  with  limestone, 

Formation      it   Brings    about   a   chemical    change. 
of  Sink=holes    n          _  .&    .  ..  .      f. 

and  Caves,      -"y   ™18  cnange  tfto  limestone  is  dis- 
solved and  carried  onward  with  the 
seeping  or  flowing  waters. 

In  the  beginning  of  a  sink-hole,  the  rain-water 
seeps  through  a  crevice  or  joint  of  the  limestone  to  a 
lower  stratum,  along  the  surface  of  which  it  finds  a 
passage.  By  gradually  dissolving  the  stone,  this 
passage-way  becomes  increased,  until  finally  a  large 
cavity  is  formed  immediately  below  the  surface.  The 
unsupported  weight  of  the  latter  causes  it  to  grad- 
ually sink  downward  and  assume  the  inverted  cone 
shape  above  mentioned.  The  opening-at  the  bottom 
becomes  larger,  allows  more  water  to  enter;  and  a 
more  rapid  dissolving  takes  place  between  the  layers. 
As  soon  as  the  under-ground  passage  has  become  large 
enough  to  allow  a  good-sized  stream  to  enter,  the 
process  of  erosion  or  abrasion  is  added  to  that  of.  the 
solvent  action  of  the  water  and  the  enlargement  of  the 
passage  goes  on  much  more  rapidly.  This  gradual 
enlargement  continues  for  hundreds,  perhaps  thou- 
sands, of  years  and  results  in  a, cave,  varying  in  size 
according  to  its  age,  the  amount  of  water  flowing 
through  it  and  the  softness  of  the  rock  dissolved  or 


102  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

eroded.  The  larger  caves  possess  great  vaulted  rooms, 
deep  pits,  high  water-falls  and  streams  of  water ;  some 
of  the  streams  being  large  enough  to  allow  the  ready 
passage  of  a  good-sized  boat. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  sink-holes  and 
caves  are  closely  related,  the  latter,  in  fact,  being 
largely  dependent  upon  the  funnel  shape  of  the  for- 
mer to  collect  the  surface  waters  and  direct  the  flow 
thereof.  A  number  of  sink-holes  often  connect  by 
narrow  and  tortuous  channels  with  the  same  under- 
ground passage,  the  latter  increasing  in  size  with  the 
addition  of  each  new  branch,  until  finally  it  attains 
majestic  dimensions. 

The  rooms  and  passages  of  limestone  caverns  are 
often,  after  their  formation,  partially  filled  by  those 
handsome  forms  of  crystalline  limestone,  called  sta- 
lactites and  stalagmites.  These  are  seldom,  if  ever, 
formed  in  great  numbers,  except  where  the  passages 
or  rooms  are  close  to  the  surface.  The  water,  charged 
with  carbonic  acid,  filters  slowly  through  the  soil, 
and,  entering  the  narrow  crevices  and  joints  between 
the  layers  of  stone,  seeps  downward  until  it  pierces 
the  roof  of  an  under-ground  cavity.  Here  the  slowly 

dripping  water  comes  in  contact  with 

Formation  of      th      a|r    Qf   the    caye       The    n      id    i& 

Stalactites  and  ?  f 

Stalagmites.      evaporated  and  the  solid  particles  01 

carbonate  of  lime,  dissolved  from  the 
rocks  with  which  it  had  come  in  contact,  are  left  be- 
hind. Each  successive  drop  thus  deposits  or  leaves  a 
solid  particle,  until  finally  a  pendent  cylindrical  mass, 
called  a  stalactite,  and  resembling  in  general  form  an 
icicle,  remains  suspended  from  the  roof. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  103 

Where  the  water,  thus  oozing  through  the  roof  of 
a  cavern,  is  greater  in  quantity  than  can  evaporate 
before  it  falls,  it  drops  from  the  stalactite  to  the  floov 
below.  There  it  splashes  outward  and  in  time  evap- 
orates, leaving  the  solid  particles  brought  down. 
These  accumulate  one  on  top  of  another  until  finally 
a  cylindrical  or  cone-shaped  mass  protrudes  upward, 
slowly  growing  in  size,  each  successive  layer  being 
distinct  from  the  preceding.  This  upward  rising 
mass  is  a  stalagmite.  It  is  almost  always  greater  in 
diameter  than  the  stalactite  above  it.  Often  the  two, 
in  time,  meet  and  a  column,  or  stalacto-stalagmite,  of 
crystalline  limestone  results.  Down  the  sides  of  this 


"b —  ~c — '  — d '^e — sT 

Fig.  24— Showing  the  formation  of  caverns  in  limestone. 

s,  Sink-hole ;  a,  c,  d,f,  g,  rooms  in  cavern  ;  6,  natural  bridge,  formed  by  the  sinking 
of  the  roof  of  a  former  very  large  room ;  e,  passages,  showing  numerous  stalactites. 
(After  Shaler.) 

the  incoming  waters  slowly  flow  instead  of  drop, 
evaporating  and  leaving  their  solid  particles  as  they 
move,  thus  increasing  in  size  the  diameter  of  the  col- 
umn. If  this  action  continues  long  enough,  the  whole 
passage  or  room  may  be  filled  by  these  deposits  and 
all  semblance  of  a  cave  obliterated. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  water,  where  it  flows  freely 
and  rapidly  through  massive  beds  of  limestone,  dis- 
solves and  erodes  great  cavities  therein ;  where  it 
seeps  and  oozes  through  such  beds  it  tends  to  fill  up 


104  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

the  cavities  already  formed.  Where  the  slowly  flow- 
ing water  has  passed  through  large  masses  of  pure 
crystalline  limestone,  the -resulting  stalactites  and  sta- 
lagmites are  often  very  clear,  almost  translucent. 
Where  sediment  and  mud  is  carried  down  with  the 
carbonate  of  lime  the  resulting  formations  assume  a 
dirty  brown  and  unattractive  appearance. 

Many  small  caves,  and  doubtless  some  large  ones, 
exist  in  southern  Indiana  whose  presence  is,  as  yet, 
unknown.  In  searching  for  them  the  bottom  of  a 
sink-hole  will  be  the  best  starting  point,  the  only 
thing  necessary  being  to  blast  or  dig  out  the  cavity 
commonly  found  there,  until  it  becomes  large  enough 
to  allow  a  person  to  enter. 

PORTER'S  CAVE. 

The  mouth  of  Porter's  Cave  is  in  the  north-eastern 
corner  of  Owen  County,  very  close  to  the  line  between 
Owen  and  Morgan  counties,  and  the  source  of  the 
stream  which  flows  therefrom  is  distant  about  one- 
half  mile  to  the  north-eastward.  The  cave  is  little 
more  than  a  narrow,  water-worn  passage-way  through 
the  rocks,  which  at  this  point  consist  of  St.  Louis  and 
Keokuk  limestones,  the  former  comprising  the  roof 
and  the  latter  the  floor. 

The  mouth  of  this  cave  is  the  most  beautiful  of  any 
visited  in  the  State.  It  is  in  the  side  of  a  hill  at  the 
head  of  a  narrow  canyon  or  gulch,  which  has  been 
eroded  by  the  stream  which  flows  from  the  cavern. 
From  the  floor  of  the  cave  to  the  bottom  of  this  gulch 
the  distance  is  83  feet,  down  which  the  stream  flows 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  105 

in  a  perpendicular  water-fall.  The  mouth  of  the  cave 
is  fifty  feet  wide  and  14 J  feet  high,  the  roof  extending 
out  in  a  broadly  arched  front  several  feet  beyond  the 
the  face  of  the  water-fall  below.  The  rock  down  which 
the  water  flows  is  covered  with  moss,  arid  in  the  early 
morn,  when  the  sunbeams  light  up  the  interior  of  the 
cave  for  a  distance  of  75  or  more  feet,  and  glisten  and 
sparkle  from  the  mossy  background  of  the  falling 
water,  the  scene  is  a  most  entrancing  one. 

The  cave  can  be  entered  only  by  a  narrow  footpath 
On  the  northern  side  of  the  mouth.  Twenty  feet  back 
from  the  entrance  the  roof  becomes  flat,  and  for  almost 
100  feet  is  comparatively  smooth,  being  composed, 
apparently  of  one  immense  slab  of  limestone.  In  this 
distance  the  width  gradually  narrows  to  30  feet.  The 
floor  is  wholly  of  rock,  in  some  places  covered  to  a 
depth  of  several  inches  with  sediment  and  loose  stones 
brought  down  by  the  running  stream.  The  latter, 
for  the  first  270  feet,  is  from  four  to  eight  feet  wide 
and  two  to  five  inches  deep.  It  meanders  from  side 
to  side  of  the  floor,  making  the  frequent  crossing  of  it 
a  necessity.  Beyond  270  feet  it  covers  the  entire 
floor  to  a  depth  of  from  six  to  twenty  inches,  and  far- 
ther exploration  must  be  made  while  wading. 

The  cave  salamander,  Spelerpes  maculicaudus 
(Cope),  inhabits  this  cave,  several  specimens  being 
found  within  200  feet  of  the  entrance.  They  were 
clinging  to  the  damp  walls  and  showed  little  fear 
when  approached.  The  raccoon,  Procyon  lotor  (L.), 
visits  the  cave  in  numbers  and  evidently  passes  en- 
tirely through  it,  as  was  evinced  by  the  tracks, 
which  were  very  plentiful  along  the  margins  of  the 


106  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

stream.  To  their  visitation  is  probably  due  the  ab- 
sence of  crayfish  and  other  crustaceans,  no  specimens 
of  which  were  noted.  Four  kinds  of  cave  flies  were 
found  on  the  walls  from  seventy-five  feet  on  back  as 
far  as  exploration  was  made.  A  few  cave  myriapods 
dwelt  beneath  stones  within  150  feet  of  the  entrance, 
and  three  kinds  of  spiders  were  taken  from  the  floor 
or  ceiling.  One  of  these,  Theridium  porteri  Banks, 
had  not  before  been  described.  It  was  found  on  the 
walls  or  roof  of  the  room  at  the  source  of  the  cave, 
and  near  each  specimen  was  often  two  and  always  one 
small  globular  cocoon,  suspended  by  a  single  thread 
from  the  roof  or  a  projection  of  the  wall.  Scattered 
threads  of  webs  were  also  noted,  but  ran  in  no  definite 
direction. 

But  few  stalactites  occur  in  Porter's  Cave  arid  they 
are  dirty  brown  in  color.  At  a  point  250  feet  from 
the  entrance  a  very  large  one  partially  shuts  oft*  the 
passage-way ;  and  645  feet  in,  a  similar  one  which  has 
had  its  lower  portion  broken  oft*,  is  found.  At  750 
feet  the  roof  becomes  so  low  that  one  has  to  stoop, 
and  the  width  is  reduced  to  18  feet.  From  this  point 
onward  both  height  and  width  gradually  diminish 
until  at  852  feet  it  became  necessary  to  crawl  through 
water,  and  further  exploration  was  abandoned.  It  is 
claimed  that  in  a  dry  season  persons  have  passed  en- 
tirely through  the  passage,  crawling  for  several  hun- 
dred feet  and  then  emerging  into  a  low  room  near  the 
source.  A  visit  to  the  latter  showed  that  it  was  not 
a  true  sink-hole,  but  a  passage-way  worn  through  the 
rocks  in  the  side  of  a  low  hill.  The  opening  was  ten 
feet  wide  and  about  four  feet  high  and  a  short  distance 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  .          107 

back  expanded  to  twenty-five  feet  in  width,  but  soon 
narrowed  again  to  eight  feet,  and  150  feet  from  the 
entrance  the  roof  came  down  close  to  the  water  and 
stopped  farther  progress.  Except  to  the  naturalist 
there  is  little  attraction  about  Porter's  Cave  other 
than  its  mouth ;  but  that  alone  is  well  worthy  a  visit 
by  all  who  enjoy  the  picturesque  and  beautiful  in 
nature. 

COON  CAVE. 

This  cave  is  located  in  the  south-western  part  of 
Monroe  County,  about  eight  miles  from  Bloomington, 
the  county  seat.  The  entrance  is  a  perpendicular  pit 
or  well,  forty-six  feet  deep  and  about  six  feet  in  diam- 
eter. The  top  of  this  pit  is  at  the  bottom  of  a  rather 
shallow  sink-hole  and  the  descent  into  the  cave  was 
made  by  a  rucfe  ladder  which  had  been  constructed 
of  poles  by  some  previous  explorer.  At  the  bottom 
of  the  pit  one  finds  himself  on  the  edge  of  a  passage- 
way, about  ten  feet  high  and  nine  feet  wide,  which 
extends  both  to  the  right  and  the  left.  The  right  hand 
passage  is  but  about  ninety  feet  long,  the  roof  and 
floor  gradually  converging  and  being  but  a  foot  or  so 
apart  at  that  distance.  Thirty-five  feet  from  the 
entrance  is  a  hole  in  the  floor  of  this  right  hand  pass- 
age, through  which  one  can  be  lowered  by  a  rope 
fifteen  feet  to  the  floor  of  a  lower  passage,  twenty-five 
feet  long,  ten  feet  high  and  six  feet  wide,  which  ex- 
tends nearly  parallel  to.  the  passage  above.  By  the 
side  of  a  smaller  opening  is  a  stalactite,  seven  feet  six 
inches  long  and  five  feet  five  inches  in  circumference, 


108  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

suspended  from  the  bottom  of  the  upper  floor  into  the 
passage-way  beneath. 

The  left  hand  passage  comprises  the  greater  portion 
of  the  cave.  It  varies  in  height  from  four  to  twenty 
feet,  averaging  about  eight.  But  little  stooping  or 
crawling  is  necessary,  but  much  climbing  over  rough 
stones  and  up  and  down  steep,  rugged  slopes  has  to  be 
done,  the  floor  in  most  places  being  covered  with  great 
masses  of  fallen  rock.  Two  hundred  and  forty  feet 
from  the  entrance  a  crevice  leads  off  through  the, 
walls  on  the  right.  By  crawling  along  a  ledge  of 
projecting  stone  for  about  100  feet,  we  reached  the 
edge  of  an  opening  large  enough  to  admit  the  body 
of  a  man,  and  by  the  aid  of  a  sapling,  bearing  numer- 
ous short  prongs  or  remains  of  limbs,  which  we  found 
in  place,  we  descended  twenty-eight  feet  into  a  lower 
passage,  about  sixty  feet  long  and  ten  feet  wide.  Here 
we  found  some  shallow  pools  of  water,  but  no  living 
forms,  and  nothing  in  the  way  of  scenery  to  reward  us 
for  the  labor  of  getting  down  and  up. 

In  numerous  places  the  floor  of  the  main  passage 
has  a  deep  cleft  near  its  center  or  on  one  side,  varying 
in  depth  from  eight  to  twenty  feet,  and  in  width  from 
a  few  inches  to  three  feet  and  more.  In  several  other 
places,  notably  340  feet  from  the  entrance,  are  open- 
ings or  deep  pit-holes,  similar  to  those  already  men- 
tioned, leading  down  into  lower  passages,'  the  latter, 
however,  of  small  extent.  The  main  passage  begins 
to  narrow  about  575  feet  from  the  entrance,  and  100 
feet  farther  on  is  but  three  feet  wide.  At  this  point 
a  branch  turns  to  the  left  and  leads  downward  into  a 
lower  room  of  small  size.  A  short  distance  beyond 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES. 


109 


this  branch  the  main  cave  ends  in  a  small  crescent- 
shaped  room,  in  the  farther  end  of  which,  750  feet 
from  the  entrance,  is  a  deep  crevice  in  the  floor,  filled 
with  water  of  exceeding  clearness.  This  pool  of 
water  was  four  feet  wide  and  appeared  but  three  or 
four  feet  deep,  but  actual 
measurement  showed  it  to 
be  nine  feet,  three  inches 
in  depth.  The  length  of 
the  pool  could  not  be  de- 
termined, but  it  extended 
down  a  branch  passage  to 
the  right,  covering  all  the 
floor  thereof  as  far  as  one 
could  see. 
For  two  or 
three  feet 
above  the 
water-line 
the  walls  of 
this  room  are 
covered  with 
small  but 
most  beauti- 
ful crystals 
of  calcite,  "  Fig-25' 

which  reflected  the  light  of  our  candles  in  a  most 
brilliant  manner.  Numerous  small  stalactites  of  the 
clearest  crystal  stud  the  walls  and  project  from  the 
crevices  of  the  roof,  while  the  floor  is  largely  com- 
posed of  calcite,  derived  from  the  overflow  and  subse- 
quent evaporation  of  the  water  from  the  pool.  This 


1.  Right-hand  passage. 

2.  Left-hand  passage. 

3.  Cleft  in  floor. 

4.  Lower  passage. 

5.  Blue  pool. 


orCooH  CAVE. 

Monroe  Co*nfy  Ind. 


110  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATUEE. 

room  is,  in  truth,  a  fairy  grotto,  decked  with  jewel? 
resplendent,  and  a  view  of  it  will  well  repay  for  all 
the  time  and  toil  necessary  to  step  within  its  bounds. 

Animal  life  wras  represented  by  but  few  forms  in 
Coon  Cave.  Several  bats  were  found  hanging,  head 
downward,  from  the  roof,  but  all  were  of  the  single 
common  species,  the  little  brown  bat,  Vespertilio  subu- 
latus  Say.  In  winter  they  are  found  in  the  cave  by 
thousands,  suspended  from  the  roof  and  projections 
of  the  walls,  their  bodies  remaining  in  a  state  of  com- 
parative torpor  for  months  in  succession. 

Several  specimens  of  a  cave-inhabiting  beetle, 
Quedius  spelceus  Horn,  were  found  beneath  stones 
within  300  feet  of  the  entrance.  This  is  a  twilight 
form,  the  adults  of  which  are  not  wholly  blind,  and 
usually  lives  in  the  dim  light  near  the  entrances  of 
caves,  feeding  upon  the  excrement  or  decaying  re- 
mains of  such  animals  as  frequent  the  place.  A  few 
flies  were  found  on  the  walls  and  near  them  two  kinds 
of  spiders  were  taken  —  showing  that  here,  as  else- 
where, the  fly  is  followed  by  the  spider,  with  the  ever 
ready  invitation  "  to  walk  into  his  parlor." 

By  far  the  most  common  form  of  life  in  this,  as  in 
many  other  of  the  caves  visited,  was  a  small  whitish 
insect,  Degeeria  cavernarum  Pack.,  about  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  in  length  and  belonging 
The  Cave  t  ^  or(jer  Thysanum.  Like  most 


Spring-tell.  .  . 

other  cave-inhabiting  insects,  it  occurs 

only  in  comparatively  moist  places,  often  swarming 
by  thousands  beneath  or  on  the  surface  of  damp 
rocks,  especially  where  organic  matter,  such  as  the 
remains  of  lunches,  drippings  of  candles,  decaying 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  Ill 

wood,  etc.,  is  scattered.  It  has  the  power  of  leaping 
several  inches  by  means  of  a  long,  spring-like  ap- 
pendage bent  under  the  hind  body,  which  on  being 
released  throws  the  owner  high  in  the  air.  The  motion 
thus  produced  may  be  likened  to  that  effected  by  a 
spring-board.  These  little  acrobats,  however,  carry 
their  spring-boards  with  them  wherever  they  go  and 
hence  have  come  to  be  known  by  the  common  name 
of  "  spring-tails."  The  one  under  consideration  doubt- 
less forms  much  of  the  food  of  the  small  spiders,  har- 
vestrnen  and  beetles  which  frequent  the  floors  of  the 
caves. 

ELLEK'S  CAVE. 

The  entrance  of  this  cave  is  at  the  bottom  of  a  sink- 
hole, 100  feet  in  diameter,  which  is  located  in  a  woods 
about  five  miles  south-west  of  Bloornington,  Monroe 
County.  The  cave  itself  is  a  double  floored  one,  the 
upper  and  older  floor  being  dry,  and  the  more  recent 
and  lower  floor  having  a  stream  of  water  flowing 
through  the  greater  part  of  its  length. 

The  entrance,  about  six  feet  wide  and  six  and  a 
half  high,  descends  gradually  for  about  fifty  feet,  and 
there  expands  into  a  room  twenty  feet  wide,  thirty 
feet  long  and  twenty -five  feet  high,  which  serves  as  a 
vestibule  or  starting  point  for  both  floors,  the  entrance 
to  the  upper  one  being  in  the  wall,  about  eight  fe.et 
above  the  floor  of  the  common  entrance. 

Two  passages  lead  from  this  vestibule  to  the  lower 
floor,  one  to  the  right  through  a  narrow  winding  cleft 
in  the  rock,  and  then  down  to  the  bed  of  a  stream, 
along  which,  by  crawling,  one  can  advance  until  he 


112 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


comes  out  into  the  second  passage,  fifty  feet  from  its 
starting  point.  From  here  onward  for  210  feet  the 
lower  passage  leads  through  a  water-worn  crevice 
from  two  to  four  feet  wide  and  three  to  fifteen  feet 
high,  the  stream  sometimes  covering 
its  bottom,  and  again  running  in  a. 
channel  cut  beneath  one  or  the  other 
of  the  sides. 

In  this  stream  were  found  two  spe- 
cies of  small  crustaceans.     One  was  a 


fl/ir  or  CUBJ  Cm. 

Monror  County, /no. 


Fig. 26. 


shrimp,  Crangonyx  -gracilis  Smith,  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  or  less  in  length,  which  is  often  found  in  wells 
and  springs  in  central  Indiana,  and  had  probably  been 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  113 

washed  into  this  and  other  caves  in  which  it  was  found 
by  the  heavy  rains  of  the  season.  The  other  and 
smaller  species,  Cizcidotcea  stygia  Packard,  is  a  true 
subterranean  form  and  was  the  most  common  crusta- 
cean noted  in  Indiana  caves.  It  was  usually  found 
singly,  swimming  or  crawling  slowly  through  the 
water  of  small  cave  streams,  and  was 

„        ave        easily  picked  up  with  a  pair  of  forceps. 
Crustacean.  V  J 

Its  body  is  flattish  like  that  of  a  sow- 
bug,  but  is  oblong  and  more  slender, 
reaching  a  length  of  one-third  of  an 
inch.  These  crustaceans  probably  fur- 
nish much  of  the  food  for  the  blind  fish 
and  crayfish  which  often  inhabit  the 
same  streams  with  them. 

Three  hundred  feet  from  the  cave  en- 
trance the  lower  passage  ends  abruptly 
in  a  room  fifty  feet  high  and  ten  feet 
wide,  the  sides  converging  in  an  angle  to 
form  the  roof.  On  the  left,  about  twelve  Fig.  27— 
feet  from  the  floor,  is  an  arched  opening,  tfea  8tv(lia- 
and  through  it  comes  a  roaring  sound  of  falling 
water.  With  difficulty  one  climbs  a  slippery  bank 
and,  passing  through  this  opening,  finds  a  most  mag- 
nificent scene  for  so  small  a  cave — a  great  cylindrical 
pit  or  shaft,  twenty  feet  in  diameter  and  sixty  feet 
high,  down  which,  on  the  farther  side,  falls  a  stream  of 
water.  A  large  bowl-shaped  cavity,  twelve  feet  deep, 
has  been  worn  by  the  falling  water  in  the  limestone 
below  the  level  at  which  the  pit  is  entered.  Descend- 
ing into  this,  it  was  found  that  the  stream  flows  out 
through  a  passage  to  the  left  too  low  for  exploration. 
8 


114  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Returning  to  the  vestibule  we  climbed  to  the  en- 
trance of  the  upper  floor,  and,  passing  a  short  distance 
within  it,  found  two  passages  diverging.  One  to  the 
left,  but  forty  feet  in  length,  ends  blindly  against  a 
bank  of  hard  clay.  Here  had  been,  in  days  of  yore, 
a  bear-wallow  and  the  marks  of  bruin's  claws  were 
numerous  and  plainly  visible  in  the  clayey  walls.  The 
right  hand  passage  proved  a  long  and  tortuous  one 
and  had  a  number  of  short  branches  leading  from  it, 
one  of  which  showred  plainly  the  evidence  of  former 
inhabitancy  by  bears.  This  main  upper  passage  is  in 
most  places  seven  to  ten  feet  high,  with  a  width  of 
five  to  seven  feet.  Two  hundred  feet  from  the  vesti- 
bule it  became  necessary  to  crawl  for  about  thirty 
feet  through  a  space  one  foot  high  by  two  feet  wide, 
when  we  emerged  into  a  circular  room  thirty  feet  in 
diameter  by  three  and  a  half  high,  the  floor  of  which 
contains  a  vast  amount  of  bat  guano.  Beyond  this 
the  passage  forks  into  three  branches,  each  of  which 
was  explored  as  far  as  possible,  the  longer  one  reach- 
ing 400  feet  from  the  vestibule  before  its  small  size 
barred  further  progress.  The  floor  of  this  upper  cave 
was  covered  in  many  places  with  a  yellow  ochery 
clay.  In  this,  in  several  places,  were  found  some 
handsome  acicular  crystals  of  selenite.  No  water 
was  found  on  the  upper  floor,  except  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  galleries,  where  it  stood  in  shallow  pools. 
These  were  evidently  quite  near  the  outer  surface,  as 
the  shells  of  several  land  snails  were  found  near  by 
the  water. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES,  115 


SHILOH  CAVE. 

The  entrance  to  this  cave  is  at  the  bottom  of  a  sink- 
hole a  few  rods  north  of  Shiloh  Church  and  about 
seven  miles  north-west  of  Bedford,  Lawrence  County. 
Except  after  a  heavy  rain,  no  Avater  Hows  through  the 
entrance,  but  a  stream  runs  the  entire  length  of  the 
main  cave,  entering  it  from  beneath  a  great  mass  of 
fallen  rock  which  has  partially  closed  the  entrance, 
and  meandering  from  side  to  side  on  the  floor  in  its 
onward  course.  On  entering,  one  descends  rapidly 
for  about  twenty  feet,  and  then  reaches  the  general 
level  of  the  main  passage.  This  passage'  is  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty -five  feet  high  and  about  the  same 
width  for  2,000  feet,  which  was  as  far  as  it  was 
explored,  the  water  becoming  too  deep  to  wade 
beyond  that  point.  It  far  exceeded  any  of  the  previ- 
ous caves  visited  in  the  number  and  size  of  its  stalac- 
tites and  stalagmites,  many  of  which  were  of  exceed- 
ing clearness.  In  the  words  of  Prof.  John  Collett, 
who  visited  the  cave  in  1873 :  "  The  lofty  sides  are 
draped  and  festooned  with  stalactites,  sometimes  hang- 
ing in  graceful  folds,  or  ribbed  with  giant  corruga- 
tions. Above,  the  roof  and  overhanging  sides  bristle 
with  quill-like  tubes,  fragile  as  glass,  each  tipped  with 
a  drop  of  water  which  sparkles  in  the  lamplight  like 
a  crystal  jewel." 

Three  hundred  feet  from  the  entrance  three  jets  of 
water  pour  down  from  the  right  wall  of  the  cave  and 
add  to  the  size  of  the  stream  along  its  floor.  These 
falls  vary  in  height  from  seven  to  ten  feet,  and  to- 


116  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

gether  they  produce  a  roaring  sound  which  is  echoed 
far  along  the  main  passage-way. 

From  this  point  onward  the  walls  are  dripping 
more  or  less  and  are  fringed  with  small  stalactites. 
About  900  feet  from  the  entrance  are  two  large  sta- 
lagmites, one  of  which,  named  by  Collett  "  The  Image 
of  the  Manitou,"  has  been  broken.  Originally  it 
must  have  been  six  feet  in  height  and  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter. 

In  a  pool  of  the  stream  in  the  main  passage  were 
secured  two  of  the  small  aquatic  insects  known  as 
"water  boatmen."  They  belong  to  the  order  Hemip- 
tera,  and  to  the  genus  Corisa,  and  were  the  only  "true 
bugs"  taken  in  Indiana  caves.  They  were  probably 
accidental  visitors,  since  their  compound  eyes  were 
fairly  well  developed. 

In  the  same  pool  were  numerous  specimens  of  the 
blind  crayfish,  Cambarus  pellucidus  (Tellkarnpf).  This 
curious  crustacean  was  found  in  a  number  of  other  In- 
diana caves,  and  probably.inhabits  every  one  in  which 
there  is  a  permanent  water  supply.  Careful  exami- 
nation of  cave  bed  streams  ought, 

f,  e  also,  to  show  its  occasional  occurrence 

Crayfish.  ; 

outside  of  its  subterranean  homes. 
During  heavy  rain-falls  the  water  rushes  with  great 
violence  through  the  caves  and  doubtless  often  car- 
ries the  crayfish  out  to  the  rivers.  Here  its  light 
color,  soft  shell  and  defenseless  condition  would  prove 
such  a  heavy  handicap  that  in  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence its  life  would  be  of  very  short  duration.  It  is 
usually  found  in  shallow  pools  with  muddy  bottom 
rather  than  in  rapidly  flowing  water.  It  moves 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES. 


117 


slowly  with  its  antennae  spread  out  before  it,  and 
gently  waving  to  and  fro,  feeling,  as  it  were,  every 
inch  of  its  way.  It  is 
wholly  non-sensitive  to 
light,  and  seemingly  so 
to  sound,  but  when  dis- 
turbed by  any  move- 
ment in  the  water  it  is 
extremely  active ;  much 
more  so  than  ordinary 
terrestrial  forms,  leap- 
ing upward  and  back- 
ward with  quick,  pow- 
erful, downward  blows 
of  its  abdomen. 

Several  branches 
leave  the  main  passage 
of  Shiloh  Cave,  but  all 
but  one  are  short  in 
length.  The  one  ex- 
ception turns  to  the 
right  about  1,500  feet 
from  the  entrance  and 
extends  in  a  south- 
westerly direction.  At 
first  it  is  a  high,  narrow  fissure  with  the  jutting 
walls  bearing  many  stalactites.  A  stream  of  water 
covers  the  entire  floor  and  from  far  in  the  distance 
comes  a  murmuring  sound  caused  by  a  succession  of 
water-falls,  four  in  number  and  in  size  small,  which 
occur  at  short  intervals  along  the  passage.  Wading 
through  pools,  clinging  to  corners  of  jutting  ledges, 


Fig.  28— Blind  Crayfish. 
(Three-fourths  natural  size.) 


118  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

climbing  over  slippery,  perpendicular  banks  we  made 
our  way  until  finally  the  passage  began  to  rise,  and 
the  limestone  gave  way  to  a  dark  shale  and  this  in 
time  to  a  light  colored  clay.  We  were  900  feet  from 
the  fork  and  thought  we  were  nearing  the  surface  and 
would  soon  find  our  way  above  ground,  when  all  at 
once  our  lights  went  out  and  we  staggered  backward 
through  utter  darkness,  escaping,  as  if  by  a  miracle, 
the  clutches  of  the  deadly  choke-damp  which  lurks  for 
unwary  explorers  amidst  the  deepest  recesses  of  this 
cave. 

Beyond  the  point  where  the  right  branch  leaves  it, 
the  main  passage  continues  in  a  southerly  direction 
and  was  explored  until  the  back  water  from  the  dam 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  became  too  deep  to  wade. 
While  preparing  to  leave  the  cave  a  heavy  thunder 
shower  came  up  and  the  water  soon  poured  in  torrents 
through  the  sink-hole  and  adding  its  volume  to  that 
of  the  enlarged  stream  within  the  cave,  quickly  cov- 
ered the  entire  floor  to  a  depth  of  nearly  two  feet. 

DONNEHUE'S  CAVE. 

The  mouth  of  this  cave  is  located  near  the  foot  of 
one  of  the  bluffs  of  White  River,  500  yards  distant 
from  that  stream  and  two  and  one-half  miles  south- 
west of  Bedford,  Lawrence  County.  From  the  mouth 
of  the  cave  a  small  stream  finds  its  way,  the  source  of 
which  is  in  a  sink-hole  three-fourths  of  a  mile  distant 
in  a  north-easterly  direction.  The  stream  is  greatly 
enlarged  after  a  heavy  rain  and  by  its  erosive  action 
the  cave  is  constantly  but  slowly  increasing  in  size. 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  119 

Entering  the  cave,  one  finds  himself  in  a  commodious 

room,  10  feet  high  and  48  feet  in  width,  the  floor  of 

rock,  covered  in  places  to  a  depth  of  two  or  three  feet 

with  alluvial  drift.     Fifty  feet  back  this  narrows  to 

12  feet  in  width  and  a  short  side  passage  puts  off  to 

the  left,  in  which  a  number  of  the  cave  salamanders, 

Spelerpes   maculicaudus    (Cope),   were   found.       This 

handsome  batrachian  was  taken  in  a  number  of  the 

caves   visited   and   doubtless   occurs   in    all   Indiana 

caverns  which   contain   streams  of  water   or   damp 

rooms  near  the  entrance.    In  life  it  is  a 

The  Cave       bright  orange-yellow  with  very  numer- 

Salamander.  ^  \          *•  \  i      i       i 

ous  black  spots,  which,  on  the  back 

and  sides,  vary  much  in  size  and  shape.  The  body  is 
quite  slender  and  reaches  a  total  length  of  6J  inches. 

It  is  usually  found  clinging  to  the  walls  within  150 
feet  of  the  entrance  of  the  caves,  especially  in  crevices 
and  crannies  just  above  flowing  streams  or  pools,  but 
never  in  the  water.  While  its  eyes  appear  as  large 
and  normal  as  those  of  allied  terrestrial  species,  its 
sense  of  sight  seems  to  be  limited.  It  remains  quiet 
when  discovered  and  shows  little  fear  until  touched, 
when  it  scrambles  deeper  into  a  crevice  or  beneath 
some  fallen  rock  on  the  floor.  Even  when  a  candle 
is  put  within  a  few  inches  of  its  head  it  does  not  move 
until  it  feels  the  heat.  Its  food  probably  consists  of 
such  insects  and  small  crustaceans  as  are  found  along 
the  margins  of  the  streams. 

Back  180  feet  from  the  mouth,  the  main  passage  of 
the  cave  is  6J  feet  high  by  6  feet  broad,  the  stream-on 
the  floor  being  about  three  feet  in  width  and  three 
inches  deep.  Farther  on  this  stream  deepens  and 


120 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


several  pools  were  found  in  which  the  water  was  two 
or  more  feet  in  depth.  At  a  distance  of  325  feet  the 
passage  forks,  and  from  the  right-hand  branch  came- 
so  strong  a  current  of  air  that  it  was  impossible  to  use 

,  candles  and  lanterns 
had  to  be  substi- 
tuted. The  change 
in  lights  made,  the 
right  hand  passage 
was  found  to  be  a 
narrow,  win  ding  one, 
about  150  feet  in 
length,  and  to  lead 
back  into  the  main 
passage  about  100 
feet  farther  from  the 
mouth  than  the 
point  from  which  it 
started.  All  these 
branches  are  through 
the  solid  rock  and 
are  only  wa- 
ter channels 
AflfOF  DomtEffl/nOiyL  three  or  four 


Zntranc* 


about      as 

pjg<  99. 

wide. 

Beyond  425  feet,  several  side  branches  were  found 
to  contain  water  too  deep  to  wade,  or  to  soon  become 
too  low  for  further  progress  ;  in  fact,  the  rock  is  more 
honeycombed  with  small  passages  than  in  any  cave 
visited.  The  main  passage,  however,  at  about  500 


IX. 


MOUTH  OF  SHAWNKE  CAVE. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  121 

feet  from  the  mouth,  enlarges  to  a  height  of  40  feet 
and  a  width  of  eight  to  ten.  This  portion  was,  for 
the  most  part,  dry,  the  stream  having  disappeared  in 
one  of  the  low  channels  already  mentioned.  In  some 
places  two  floors  are  found  ;  in  others  the  greater  part 
of  the  upper  floor  has  fallen  in,  leaving  a  portion  in 
the  form  of  a  natural  hridge  spanning  the  passage 
from  side  to  side.  At  a  point  950  feet  from  the  mouth 
the  upper  passage  ends  against  a  perpendicular  wall 
of  rock,  from  near  the  top  of  which  is  a  passage  on- 
ward, but  too  high  from  where  we  stood  to  admit  of 

o 

entrance.  The  lower  passage  was  followed  to  about 
the  same  point,  where  it  became  two  feet  high  and 
three  feet  wide  and  almost  filled  with  water,  thus  bar- 
ring further  progress.  But  few  stalactites  were  found 
in  the  cave,  and  they  were  mostly  of  small  size  and 
unattractive  appearance. 

SIIAWNEE  CAVE. 

Among  Indiana  caverns  the  mouth  of  Shawnee  Cave 
ranks  next  to  that  of  Porter's  in  picturesque  beauty. 
Indeed,  by  some  it  is  classed  as  more  attractive.  The 
mouth  of  the  cave  is  found  at  the  head  of  a  deep 
gorge  worn  through  the  limestone  by  a  good  sized 
stream  which  flows  from  the  cave  and  down  the  gorge 
to  the  broader  valley  beyond.  Many  centuries  ago 
the  cave  extended  the  full  length  of  the  gorge,  and 
the  waters  of  the  stream  flowed  directly  from  its 
mouth  into  the  valley.  The  roof  of  the  under-ground 
channel  finally  became  so  thin  that  it  collapsed,  the 
gorge  was  then  started  and,  as  the  centuries  went  by, 


122  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

grew  in  length,  the  cave  ever  becoming  shorter  by  the 
continued  falling  of  the  roof.  Both  gorge  and  cave 
are  located  about  three  miles  south-east  of  Mitchell, 
Lawrence  county,  in  a  region  noted  for  the  beauty  of 
its  scenery. 

Three  passages  open  directly  into  the  mouth  of  the 
cave.  The  right  hand  passage  has  the  level  of  its 
floor  about  five  feet  above  that  of  the  entrance,  while 
the  opening  on  the  left  is  12  feet  above  the  bed  of  the 
stream  and  very  difficult  to  enter  without  a  ladder. 
The  middle  passage  extends  straight  back  from  the 
common  vestibule  or  main  entry.  The  latter  is 
twenty-five  feet  long,  twenty-one  feet  high  and 
eighteen  feet  wide,  but  at  its  farther  end  is  reduced 
to  the  narrow  middle  passage  between  great  masses 
of  limestone.  The  water  in  this  passage  is  waist  deep 
and  explorations  must  be  made  by  wading  or  in  a 
light  canoe.  One  hundred  feet  within  is  a  magnifi- 
cent cascade,  where  the  stream  rushes  and  leaps  down 
a  narrow  passage  with  such  violence  that  the  noise  is 
plainly  heard  at  the  entrance. 

The  right  hand  passage,  for  the  first  100  feet,  is 
about  ten  feet  high  by  fifteen  wide,  with  a  clay  bot- 
tom and  a  roof  on  a  level  with  that  of  the  vestibule. 
It  then  expands  into  a  large  room,  230  feet  long  and 
forty  feet  wide,  which  lies  east  and  west  at  right 
angles  to  the  entering  passage.  This  narrows  at  the 
west  end  to  twenty  feet  and  at  one  point  the  outer  air 
flows  in  through  a  small  opening  in  the  roof.  From 
near  the  smaller  end  of  the  room  a  narrow  passage 
starts  off  to  the  southward  and  can  be  traveled  for 
200  feet,  when  it  becomes  too  narrow  for  further 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  123 

advance.  Along  this  passage  a  small  stream  flows, 
disappearing  through  a  hole  in  the  floor  near  tine 
entrance  to  the  larger  room.  Other  than  this,  both 
right  and  left  passages  leaving  the  main  entry  are  dry. 

The  passage  at  the  left  of  the  main  entrance  to  the 
cave  is  about  150  feet  long  by  twenty  broad,  and  con- 
tains no  points  of  especial  interest.  No  stalactites 
worthy  of  notice  are  found  in  this  cave.  The  name 
"Shawnee"  has  been  given  it  from  its  being  near  the 
center  of  the  former  hunting  grounds  of  the  Shawnee 
Indians.  It  was  doubtless  used  by  them  as  a  place  of 
shelter  since  many  relics  have,  from  time  to  time, 
been  found  about  its  mouth.  In  the  early  settlement 
of  this  region  the  nitrous  earth  on  the  floor  of  the 
two  dry  passages  was  used  in  the  making  of  saltpetre  ; 
and  the  stream  flowing  from  the  main  cave  was  after- 
wards dammed  and  utilized  for  a  number  of  years  in 
driving  a  woolen,  grist  and  saw  mill. 

This  stream  is  one  of  the  largest  issuing  from  an 
Indiana  cave..  It  flows  for  a  long  distance  under- 
ground and  in  several  places  south  of  Shawnee  Cave 
the  roof  of  its  subterranean  passage  has  caved  in, 
causing  deep  ravines  at  the  bottom  of  which  the 
stream  meanders,  until  it  reaches  a  point  where  the 
roof  of  stone  remains  intact,  and  the  entrance  of  a 
new  cave  begins,  into  which  the  waters  disappear,  as 

u  Alph,  the  sacred  river,  ran 
Through  caverns  measureless  to  man, 
Down  to  a  sunless  sea." 

In  this  stream  the  blind  fish,  Amblyopsis  spelceus  De- 
Kay,  occurs  in  numbers,  though  never  more  than  two 


124  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

and  seldom  but  one  are  seen  at  a  time.     When  full 
grown  this  fish  reaches  a  length  of  four  and  a  half 

inches.     The   body  is  colorless,  the 
The  Blind  Fish.  „     V^.-,Al 

scales  very  small  and  the  young  are 

born  alive.    No  external  traces  of  eyes  are  to  be  found 
in  adult  specimens,  but  the  loss  of  sight  is  in  part 
compensated  by  numerous  touch  papillae,  arranged 
*  in  ridges  on  the  sides  and  front  of  the  head. 

These  eyeless  fishes  move  very  slowly  through  the 
water,  usually  near  the  surface  and  close  to  the  edges 
of  the  deeper  pools  which  they  inhabit.  They  are 
wholly  non-sensitive  to  light,  but  extremely  sensitive 


Fig.  30— Blind  Fish. 
(Three-fourths  natural  size.) 

to  touch  or  any  jar  or  motion  of  the  water.  They 
were  readily  caught  by  putting  a  dip-net  very  gently 
into  the  water  a  foot  or  two  from  them  and  then 
making  a  quick  forward  and  upward  scoop.  If  in 
still,  deep  water,  they  seem  to  glide,  or  rather  float, 
on  and  on,  propelled  by  a  scarcely  perceptible  motion 
of  the  caudal  fin.  One  must  think  of  them  as  ever 
surrounded  by  an  intense  darkness,  the  prey  of  every 
fish-loving  animal,  as  mink  or  coon,  that  can  swim 
and  see  in  the  darkness,  the  white  skin  of  the  fish 
readily  revealing  its  presence  if  the  least  gleam  of 
light  reflects  from  its  sides. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  125 

Concerning  the  sense  of  hearing  as  developed  in 
this  species  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope  has  written  as  follows: 
"  If  these  Amhlyopses  be  not  alarmed  they  come  to 
the  surface  to  feed  and  swim  in  full  sight,  like  white, 
aquatic  ghosts.  They  are  then  easily  taken  by  the 
hand  or  net,  if  perfect  silence  is  preserved,  for  they  are 
unconscious  of  the  presence  of  an  enemy  except 
through  the  medium  of  hearing.  This  sense  is,  how- 
ever, evidently  very  acute,  for  at  any  noise  they  turn 
suddenly  downward  and  hide  beneath  stones,  etc.,  on 
the  bottom." 

My  observations  do  not  bear  out  the  above  state- 
ment. I  talked  and  even  hallooed  close  to  the  fish 
without  causing  them  to  take  alarm,  but  the  least 
movement  of  the  water  frightened  them,  and  they 
darted  rapidly  away,  usually  at  right  angles  to  the 
course  they  were  'pursuing.  The  sense  of  touch,  rather 
than  that  of  hearing,  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  one  which 
has  been  intensified  by  long  residence  in  the  dark  and 
silent  recesses  of  the  caves.  In  a  number  of  instances, 
as  the  dip-net  was  raised  quickly  upward,  the  fish 
leaped  several  inches  above  the  surface  of  the  water 
in  a  vain  endeavor  to  escape.  * 

In  one  place  where  a  stream  flows  out  of  a  cave  and 
through  a  deep  ravine  for  about  200  yards,  and  then 
enters  another  cave,  the  blind  fish  were  captured  in 
both  caverns  within  100  feet  of  the  openings,  and 
there  is  little  doubt  but  that  they  make  their  way 
through  the  open  stream  from  one  to  the  other.  The 
caves  and  under-ground  streams  of  southern  Indiana 
doubtless  form  a  more  or  less  complete  system  of  sub- 
terranean drainage,  and  through  this  the  blind  fish 


126  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

finds  its  way  wherever  the  water  is  deep  enough  to 
allow  it  passage. 

In  captivity  this  fish  eats  very  little.  Dr.  Sloan,  of 
New  Albany,  who  kept  specimens  in  an  aquarium  for 
20  months,  says :  "  They  have  taken  no  food,  except 
what  has  grown  up  in  the  water  and  on  the  sand  in 
their  tank.  .  .  .  Some  of  them  would  strike 
eagerly  at  any  small  body  thrown  in  the  water  near 
them,  rarely  missed  it,  and  in  a  very  short  time  ejected 
it  from  their  mouths  with  considerable  force.  I  often 
tried  to  feed  them  with  bits  of  meat  and  fresh  worms, 
but  they  retained  nothing.  On  one  occasion  I  missed 
a  small  one  and  found  his  tail  projecting  from  the 
mouth  of  a  larger  one ;  I  captured  and  released  him." 

In  nature  they  doubtless  feed  upon  one  another  and 
upon  the  blind  crayfish  and  smaller  crustaceans  which 
inhabit  with  them  the  streams  of  caves.  A  number 
of  those  captured  were  "  nosing,"  as  they  slowly  swam, 
the  rocks  along  the  sides  of  the  pools,  and  it  is  possi- 
ble that  they  gather  some,  organic  matter  from  the 
slime  on  these  rocks. 


CLIFTY   CAVES. 

The  mouths  of  the  two  Clifty  caves  are  about  200 
yards  apart,  and  are  located  at  the  head  of  a  deep  and 
narrow  valley  about  three  miles  north  of  Campbells- 
burg,  Washington  County.  Clifty  Creek  has  its 
source  in  the  streams  which  emerge  from  the  caves, 
and  flows  in  a  north-westerly  direction  about  four 
miles  to  White  River,  into  which  it  empties.  Its  val- 
ley, especially  the  upper  half,  is  noted  for  the  wild 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  127 

and  rugged  scenery  and  the  vicinity  of  the  caves  is  a 
noted  resort  for  pleasure  seekers. 

The  caves  are  designated,  respectively,  by  the  terms 
"wet"  and  "dry, "the  former  being  the  smaller  of  the 
two.  Across  the  mouth  of  the  Wet  Cave  a  dam  has 
been  built,  and  the  water  emerges  from  it  with  suffi- 
cient force  to  turn  the  machinery  of  a  distillery  and 
grist  mill ;  both  abandoned,  however,  since  their  owner 
died,  a  few  years  ago.  The  mouth  of  the  cave  is  a 
perfect  archway  in  the  solid  limestone,  fourteen  fee£ 
wide  and  eleven  feet  from  roof  to  bottom.  The  water 
behind  the  dam  was  two  and  a  half  feet  in  depth,  and 
deepened  rapidly  as  one  went  back,  and  the  cave  was 
explorable  only  by  means  of  a  boat,  which  was  not  at 
my  command. 

Dr.  John  Sloan  of  New  Albany,  Indiana,  at  one 
time  went  up  the  stream  in  the  Wet  Cave  for  about 
200  yards  on  a  raft  of  timber,  at  which  point  rapids 
were  encountered,  over  which  it  was  impossible  to 
lift  the  raft,  and  the  water  above  being  too  deep  to 
wade,  he  was  obliged  to  return. 

The  Dry  Cave  was  explored  for  a  distance  of  2,650 
feet,  beyond  which  it  was  impossible  to  proceed.  The 
entrance  is  larger  than  that  of  the  Wet  Cave,  being 
eighteen  feet  high  and  twenty  feet  wide.  Back  100 
feet  it  narrows  to  thirteen  feet-in  width,  and,  lifty  feet 
farther,  to  about  eight  feet,  the  water  at  this  point  cov- 
ering the  entire  floor  to  a  depth  of  six  inches.  For 
the  first  500  feet  the  main  passage  is  very  crooked, 
but  beyond  that  point  it  is  comparatively  straight  and 
extends  in  a  general  south-westerly  direction.  Like 
Porter's  Cave,  it  is  a  mere  water-worn  passage,  with 


128  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

no  large  rooms,  few  stalactites,  and,  in  general,  may 
be  said  to  be  monotonous.  The  stream  on  the  floor 
winds  from  side  to  side  of  the  cave,  thus  making  the 
frequent  crossing  of  it  necessary. 

In  a  shallow  pool  of  water,  1,200  feet  from  the  en- 
trance of  the  cave,  a  fine  specimen  of  the  blind  cray- 
fish was  secured,  and  about  fifty  feet  distant,  in  a 
deeper  pool  of  the  main  stream,  numbers  of  a  com- 
mon species  of  an  above-ground  crayfish,  Cambarus 
bartonii  (Fab.),  were  found.  Whether  these  seeing 
forms  pass  their  entire  lives  in  the  total  darkness  of 
the  cave  or  whether  they  make  an  occasional  visit  to 
the  outside  is  a  question  as  yet  unsolved.  The  same 
species  was  found  in  several  other  caves  and  seems  to 
have  a  liking  for  clear,  cold  water  and  underground 
resorts.  If  these  habits  be  continued  a  "  new  species" 
of  blind  crayfish  will,  in  time,  result;  for  there  is  lit- 
tle doubt  .but  that  the  ordinary  eyeless  form  has 
evolved  from  a  seeing  one  which,  ages  ago,  found  its 
way,  voluntarily  or  otherwise,  into  the  under-ground 
streams.  Finding  there  the  struggle  for  existence  less 
deadly  than  among  its  numerous  kin  of  the  surface 
waters  it  slowly  adapted  itself  to  its  surroundings. 
Having  no  need  for  its  eyes  they,  in  time,  became 
aborted,  for  nature  always  rids  her  objects  of  every 
organ  which,  from  a  change  of  environment  or  habit, 
becomes  to  them  useless. 

Several  specimens  of  above-ground  beetles  were 
taken  from  the  margin  of  the  stream  in  this  cave,  but 
they  had  probably  been  washed  in  by  the  heavy  rains 
of  the  week  before.  The  most  interesting  insect 
secured  was  a  cave  harvestman,  Scotolemon  flavescens 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES. 


129 


(Cope),  which  is  closely  allied  to  the  common  "  daddy 
long-legs."  It  is,  however,  much  smaller,  and  pale 
yellow  or  reddish  in  color.  It  fre- 
quents the  surface  of  damp  rocks 
and  probably  feeds  upon  the  little 
cave  "  spring-tail "  which  was  every- 
where abundant. 

Several  short^  side  branches  di- 
verge from  the  main  one,  and  at  a 
distance  of  1,300  feet  from  the 
mouth  a  large  branch  turns  off  to 
the  right,*whieh  was  explored  for 
about  400  feet,  but  not  to  the  end. 
The  main  passage  continues  to  the 
left,  and  at  1,800  feet  a  large  rock 
30x15  feet  was  found  which  had  fallen  from  the  roof 
and  partially  blocked  the  way.  Two  thousand  feet 
from  the  entrance  the  passage  widens  into  a  room 
100  feet  across  and  four  feet  in  height',  which  contains 
much  fallen  rock,  but  nothing  else  of  especial  interest. 
Beyond  this  the  cave  narrows  again  and  varies  from 
twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  width  as  far  as  explored. 


Fig.  31— Cave  Harvest- 
man.    (Much  enlarged.) 


MAKENGO  CAVE. 

This  cave,  which  next  to  Wyandotte  is  the  most 
noted  in  Indiana,  is  located  a  short  distance  north-east 
of  Marengo,  Crawford  County.'  It  has  been  known 
only  since  1883,  and  the  owners  of  the  land  on  which 
the  entrance  is  located  were  wise  enough  to  prevent 
the  ruthless  destruction  of  the  stalagmites  and  stalac- 
tites which  form  the  main  beauty  of  the  cavern.  Some 
9 


130  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

children  playing  about  a  sink-hole  in  September  of 
that  year,  noted  an  opening  which  had  been  formed 
near  its  bottom  by  a  recent  falling  of  earth  and  rock, 
and  venturing  in,  found  the  room  now  known  as 
"  Grand  Entrance  Hall."  Afraid  to  go  farther,  they 
made  known  their  discovery  to  other  persons,  and  in 
a  few  weeks  the  entire  cave  had  been  explored.  A 
building  was  soon  afterward  erected  above  the  mouth, 
and  stairways  built,  so  that  entrance  into  the  cavern 
could  be  easily  and  safely  made. 

Thousands  of  visitors  have  since  passed  through 
this  cave,  and  no  one  who  is  at  all  in  sympathy  with 
nature  can  come  forth  from  its  corridors  and  passages 
without  feeling  fully  repaid  for  his  peep  into  one  of 
her  under-ground  chemical  workshops.  There,  the 
only  materials  necessary  are  water  and  limestone. 
Given  these,  and  time  unlimited,  the  varied  character 
and  wonderful  beauty  of  the  products  possible  can 
only  be  realized  by  those  who  have  spent  a  few  hours 
in  a  cavern  like  Marengo. 

Descending  the  stairways,  after  having  been  pro- 
vided with  a  lantern  and  guide,  the  visitor  finds  himself 
fifty  feet  below  the  surface  in  the  large  vestibule  known 
as  the  Grand  Entrance  Hall.  This  is  a  room  fifty 
feet  wride  and  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in  height,  the  floor 
of  dry  earth,  and  with  two  passages  diverging,  one 
ascending  to  the  right  and  leading  through  the  Short 
Route  and  Crystal  Palace,  the  other  descending  to  the 
left  and  leading  through  the  Long  Route. 

Taking  first  the  latter,  we  found  the  main  passage 
to  be  12  feet  high  and  about  20  feet  wide.  Scattered 
at  intervals  along  its  walls  and  roof  were  many  stalac- 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  131 

tites,  some  in  groups,  others  singly,  and  all  possessed 
of  fanciful  names  given  them  by  former  visitors  or  by 
the  proprietors  and  guides  of  the  cave.  One  hundred 
feet  from  the  foot  of  the  entrance  is  a  slab  of  lime- 
stone, fallen  from  the  roof,  whose  dimensions  are 
18x8x4  feet.  This  is  known  as  "Fallen  Rock,"  and 
beyond  it  a  short  distance  is,  on  the  right,  a  passage- 
way known  as  the  "Cut  Off,"  which  leads  to  the 
Crystal  Palace.  Continuing,  the  main  passage  widens 
to  30  or  more  feet,  and  for  a  distance  of  80  feet  is 
known  as  "Statue  Hall."  In  this  are  some  note- 
worthy formations,  the  prettiest  of  which  is  "Mt. 
"Vesuvius,"  a  large,  rounded  stalagmite.  Above  it  is 
a  group  of  slender  stalactites,  down  which  a  stream 
of  water  trickles  and  gives  a  muddy  character  to  the 
floor  for  a  distance  of  several  hundred  feet. 

Crawling  over  the  damp  rocks  were  several  speci- 
mens of  a  small,  light  yellow  spider,  Nesticus  carteri 
Em.,  which  were  quickly  consigned  to  a  vial  of  alco- 
hol. It  belongs  to  the  group  of  "wandering  spiders" 
whose  members  spin  no  webs,  and  its  food  is  doubtless, 
the  little  cave  "spring-tail"  which  occurred  by  thou- 
sands in  the  same  damp  area.  Here,  also,  were  taken 
the  first  specimens  of  a  blind  myriapod,  afterwards 
found  in  great  numbers  in  Wyandotte  Cave. 

Congress  Hall  succeeds  Statue  Hall  and  contains 
along  the  edge  of  the  ceiling  some  handsome  forma- 
tions, known  as  the  "  Giant's  Mitten,"  "  Mammoth 
Pen,"  etc.  From  this  hall  the  bed  of  an  old  stream 
leads  to  the  right  beneath  the  massive  limestone  walls. 
"Mammoth  Hall,"  with  a  width  of  sixty -five  feet  and 
a  length  of  about  300,  comes  next  in  order,  and  con- 


132 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


tains  the  "Elephant's  Head," 
"Bridal  Curtains"  and  other 


2. 


Grand  Entrance 
•    Hall. 
Cut  Off. 


3.  Congress  Hall. 

4.  Mammoth  Hall. 

5.  Elks'  Hall. 

6.  Music  Hall. 

7.  Cave  Hill  Cemetery. 

8.  Creeping  Ave. 

9.  Junction  Room. 

10.  Fairy  Palace. 

11.  Prison  Cell. 

12.  Prison  Bars. 

13.  Washington  Ave. 

14.  Lovers'  Retreat. 


"Folded  Lambrequin," 
fantastic  formations  of 
carbonate  of  lime, 
wrought  in  dark- 
ness in  the  ages 
past. 

Beyond  Mam- 
moth Hall  the 
passage  divides 
and  passes  around 
a  mass  of  unerod- 
ed  limestone.  The 
branch  on  the 
right  rises  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  above 
the  level  of  the 
main  floor  and  en- 
larges  into  "  Elks' 
Hall,"  a  room  190 
feet  long  and 
twenty  feet  high. 
Beyond  this  hall 
the  two  branches 
soon  unite  and  at 
a  distance  of  1,000 
feet  from  the  en- 
trance enlarge  in- 
to "Music  Hall," 
a  large  room  con- 

taining a  raised  platform  of  rock,  known  as  the 
"  Band  Stand."  A  short  distance  farther  on,  a  branch 
goes  off  to  the  left  which  has  been  explored  only  by 


/TAT  or  f\mm 

Crawford  COL 


~ 
/nd 


15.  Nameless  Pass. 

16.  Crystal  Palace. 

17.  Crystal  Palace  Gal- 

lery. 

18.  Pillared  Palace. 

19.  "Western  Ave. 


Entrance 


X. 


1.  CORNER  OF  CAVE  HILL  CEMETERY,  MARENGO  CAVE. 

2.  TOWER  OF  BABEL,  MARENGO  CAVE. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  133 

guides,  the  ceiling  being  low  and  the  scenery  pos- 
sessing no  especial  interest. 

Fourteen  hundred  feet  from  the  entrance  the  main 
passage  again  forks,  the  right  branch  containing  "  Cave 
Hill  Cemetery."  Herein  are  found  some  beautiful 
stalagmites  and  pillars,  one  of  which,  called  "  Wash- 
ington's Monument,"  is  among  the  most  striking 
objects  of  the  cave.  Its  height  is  four  feet,  eleven 
inches,  and  a  foot  above  the  base  it  is  two  feet  in  cir- 
cumference. Composed  of  the  clearest  of  crystalline 
limestone,  it  stands  with  its  white  surface  gleaming 
in  the  dim  lantern  light,  inspiring  the  visitor  with  a 
feeling  of  wonder  as  to  how  an  object  of  such  beauty 
and  purity  could  have  been  formed  in  these  depths  of 
Cimmerian  darkness.  Another  monument  of  greater 
size,  but  less  imposing  on  account  of  its  yellowish- 
brown  color,  is  the  "Tower  of  Babel" — ten  feet  high 
and  six  feet,  eight  inches  in  circumference.  It  stands 
among  numerous  smaller  stalagmites,  a  short  distance 
beyond  Washington's  Monument. 

Beyond  the  tower  of  Babel  the  roof  of  the  right 
branch  lowers,  and  it  is  necessary  to  crawl  through  a 
narrow  opening  and  then  creep  or  stoop  for  quite  a 
distance  through  "  Creeping  Avenue,"  passing  mean- 
while among  many  pillars,  stalagmites  and  stalactites, 
varied  in  form  and  beautiful  to  look  upon.  Emerging 
from  this  avenue  we  stood  erect  in  the  "Junction 
Room"  2,000  feet  from  the  cave  entrance,  and  at  the 
point  where  the  branch  which  turned  to  the  left  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Cave  Hill  Cemetery  meets  the 
right  branch  through  which  we  have  traveled.  Beyond 
this  point  the  cave  narrows  and  the  roof  conies  down 


134  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

within  a  foot  of  the  floor.  By  creeping,  crawling  and 
twisting  from  side  to  side  we  managed  to  get  up  a 
slippery  hill  and  through  a  small  opening  into  the 
"  Fairy  Palace/'  a  place  visited  by  few  on  account  of 
the  difficulty  of  the  way.  Here  we  found  the  farthest 
explored  part  of  the  cave,  and  in  the  small  room,  per- 
haps ten  feet  wide  and  five  feet  high,  were  thousands 
of  formations,  which  reflected  the  light  in  a  most  bril- 
liant manner. 

Retracing  the  way  to  the  Junction  Room,  we  turned 
to  the  right  into  the  "  Prison  Cell,"  a  large  room  which 
contains  some  of  the  principal  features  of  the  cave. 
Here  is  the  "Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa,"  a  stalagmite  six 
feet  high,  with  the  top  inclined  several  inches  beyond 
the  base;  " Solomon's  Temple,"  a  group  of  slender 
pillars  six  and  a  half  feet  in  height  and  arranged  in  a 
circle;  "Administration  Building,"  a  pillar  made  up 
of  a  series  of  circular  layers  of  crystalline  limestone, 
piled  one  on  top  of  another  so  as  to  cause  the  whole 
to  resemble  a  Japanese  pagoda;  "Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment," formed  on  a  fallen  slab,  story  on  story  as  the 
preceding,  besides  many  others  as  handsome,  yet  too 
numerous  to  mention.  We  passed  from  the  Prison 
Cell,  between  the  "Prison  Bars" — a  series  of  slender 
columns  six  feet  long  and  six  to  eight  inches  in  cir- 
cumference— into  "Washington  Avenue,"  the  left 
branch  of  the  main  passage  at  the  fork  near  Cave  Hill 
Cemetery.  This  avenue  is  450  feet  in  length,  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  in  width,  and  for  about  one-third 
of  its  length  the  ceiling  is  so  low  as  to  require  a  stoop- 
ing position  in  passing  through.  On  the  way  are 
many  small  stalagmites  grouped  in  a  straggling 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  135 

fashion,  "  Grant's  Army"  and  "  Coxey's  Army"  being 
the  names  given  to  two  of  the  largest  assemblages. 
The  floor  of  Washington  Avenue  is  dry  and  for  the 
most  part*  composed  of  earth,  with  here  and  there  a 
slab  of  fallen  rock.  Near  the  fork  it  descends  for 
about  fifteen  feet  and  we  enter  once  more  the  main 
passage,  already  described,  and  make  our  way  along 
it  to  the  "Cut  Off"  leading  to  Crystal  Palace, passing 
on  our  left  the  "  Lover's  Retreat,"  a  winding  cleft 
which  extends  about  seventy-five  feet  back  into  the 
solid  limestone. 

The  Crystal  Palace  is  the  crowning  glory  of  Ma- 
rengo  Cave.  It  is  a  small  alcove  or  side  room,  ninety 
feet  long,  fifteen  feet  wide  and  about  twenty-five  feet 
in  height.  At  the  south  end  is  a  perpendicular  wall 
along  which  is  a  drapery  or  vast  sheet  of  stalactites, 
and  from  a  projecting  shelf  are  many  slender  stalag- 
mites, the  whole  so  grouped  as  to  resemble  a  giant 
pipe-organ.  The  side  walls  are  studded  with  hun- 
dreds of  small  and  large  formations,  while  from  the 
roof  hang,  pendent,  myriads  of  slender  stalactites  of 
the  clearest  crystal,  wrhich  reflect  with  sparkling  bril- 
liancy the  rays  of  the  calcium  or  magnesium  flash 
lights.  By  ascending  a  stairway  fifteen  feet,  one  finds 
himself  on  a  balcony  in  the  very  midst  of  these  form- 
ations and  can  pass  back  into  "  Crystal  Palace  Gal- 
lery," a  low  passage,  about  150  feet  in  length,  the 
floor  of  which  resembles  a  relief  map,  being  thrown 
up  in  many  places  in  narrow  corrugations  and  ridges, 
with  here  and  there  a  pool  of  limpid  water  occupy- 
ing the  irregular  and  shallow  depressions. 

Descending  the  stairway  and  passing  to  tbe  left, 


136  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

we  enter  the  "  Western  Avenue  or  Short  Route,"  the 
principal  feature  of  which  is  the  "  Pillared  Palace,'' 
where  giant  pillars,  stalactites  and  stalagmites  are  so 
numerous  that  it  is  with  difficulty  the  visitor  winds 
his  way  between  and  around  them.  This  portion  of 
the  cave  extends  but  about  150  feet  in  a  westerly  di- 
rection, and  into  it  has  been  dug  an  artificial  opening 
from  the  surface,  forty  feet  above.  Retracing  our 
steps  for  the  last  time,  we  turn  to  the  left  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Pillared  Palace  and  pass  through 
another  boAver  of  beauty,  the  "  Queen's  Palace,"  a 
small  room  whose  walls  are  composed  wholly  of  pil- 
lars and  stalagmites.  Beyond  this  we  pass  the  "  Dia- 
mond Dome,"  the  largest  stalagmite  of  the  cave,  thir- 
ty-one feet  in  diameter  and  reaching  from  ceiling  to 
floor,  and  emerge  into  Grand  Entrance  Hall,  which 
was  our  starting  point. 

In  the  crevices  of  the  walls  of  this  hall  the  cave 
salamander  has  its  abiding  places  and  among  the  de- 
bris which  has  fallen  from  the  roof  a  number  of  white- 
footed  mice,  Calomys  americanus  (Kerr),  have  taken 
up  their  home.     They  have  been  noted 

A  Cave         eyer  gjnce  ^e  cave  was  discovered,  but 
Inhabiting 

Mouse.         seem  to  keep  close  to  the  entrance, 

through  which,  however,  no  light 
passes.  In  the  winter  season  they  are  very  destructive 
to  sweet  potatoes  and  pumpkins  stored  in  the  cave,  and 
at  other  seasons  evidently  subsist  upon  the  tallow  drip- 
pings and  other  refuse  matter  left  by  the  visitors. 
They  differ  much  in  appearance  from  above-ground 
examples  of  the  same  species,  having  larger  external 
ears,  longer  whiskers  and  more  protruding  eyes. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES,  137 

Such  changes  have  been  brought  about  by  their  life 
in  the  darkness,  and  are  but  the  beginning  of  a  series 
of  adaptations  to  their  changed  surroundings  which 
will  eventually  result  in  a  "new  species  of  blind 
mice,"  provided  such  a  life  be  continued  for  any 
length  of  time. 

Careful  measurements  showed  the  total  length  of 
Marengo  Cave,  including  the  side  branches,  to  be 
3,850  feet.  Within  this  distance  of  less  than  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  are  probably  crowded  more 
beautiful  formations  of  crystalline  limestone  than  in 
any  other  known  cave  of  similar  size  in  the  United 
States. 

Lacking  the  length,  the  lofty  vaulted  rooms  and  the 
grand  scenery  of  Wyandotte,  Marengo  far  excels  that 
cave  in  the  abundance  and  beauty  of  its  stalactites, 
stalagmites  and  other  like  formations.  To  those  who 
wish  but  a  glimpse  of  under-ground  life,  wre  most 
heartily  commend  it,  believing  that  a  visit  of  a  few 
hours  will  repay  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  mys- 
terious and  beautiful  in  nature. 

WYANDOTTE  CAVE. 

Next  to  Mammoth  Cave,  Kentucky,  Wyandotte  is 
the  largest  cavern  in  the  United  States.  Its  enormous 
under-ground  halls  and  vaulted  domes,  its  gigantic 
fluted  columns  and  vast  piles  of  fallen  rock,  are  unex- 
celled in  any  other  American  cavern.  Its_  situation 
among  the  rugged  hills  which  form  the  breaks  of  the 
Ohio  River,  in  a  country  as  yet  primitive  in  character, 
where  game  is  plentiful,  and  fishing  in  the  clear  waters 


138  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  Blue  River  exceptionally  good,  make  it  a  most 
inviting  spot  for  a  summer's  outing. 

Around  the  hotel,  situated  close  to  the  cave  on  a 
commanding  eminence  in  a  natural  wooded  grove, 
grow  numerous  forms  of  plant  life  which  are  stran- 
gers to  central  and  northern  Indiana,  while  in  the  cave 
dwell  many  sightless  animals  whose  habits  of  life  are 
yet  unknown  ;  so  that  the  botanist  and  zoologist  may 
add  to  the  study  of  the  cavern  itself  the  pursuit  of 
their  favorite  subjects. 

The  first  published  account  of  Wyandotte  Cave  was 
probably  in  1833,  in  "Flint's  Geography  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Valley,"  as  follows:  "Like  Alabama  and 
Tennessee,  Indiana  abounds  with  subterranean  won- 
ders in  the  form  of  caves.  Many  have  been  explored 
and  some  of  them  have  been  described.  One  of  them 
is  extensively  known  in  the  western  country  by  the 
name  of '  the  Epsom  Salts  Cave.' 

"It  is  not  very  far  from  Jeffersonville.  When  first 
discovered  the  salts  were  represented  as  being  some 
inches  deep  on  the  floor.  The  interior  of  this  cave 
possesses  the  usual  domes  and  chambers  of  extensive 
caverns,  through  which  the  visitant  gropes  a  distance 
of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  to  the  'pillar,'  which  is  a  splen- 
did column,  fifteen  feet  in  diameter  and  twenty-five 
feet  high,  regularly  reeded  from  top  to  bottom.  Near 
it  are  smaller  pillars  of  the  same  appearance. 

"  The  salt  in  question  is  sometimes  found  in  lumps 
varying  from  one  to  ten  pounds.  The  floors  and 
walls  are  covered  with  it  in  the  form  of  a  frost,  which, 
when  removed,  is  speedily  reproduced.  The  earth 
yields  from  four  to  twenty  pounds  to  the  bushel,  and 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  139 

the  product  is  said  to  be  of  the  best  quality.  Nitre  is 
also  found  in  the  cave  in  great  abundance,  and  sul- 
phate of  lime  or  plaster  of  paris." 

The  mouth  of  Wyandotte  Cave  is  located  in  Jen- 
nings Township,  Crawford  County.  The  nearest  rail- 
way, the  "  Air  Line,"  passes  through  Milltown,  which 
is  nine  miles  distant  from  the  cave,  over  an  exceed- 
ingly rough  road.  From  Corydon,  the  county  seat 
of  Harrison  County,  the  distance  is  about  twelve  miles, 
and  the  road  a  fair  one  for  southern  Indiana.  This 
route  is  a  most  pleasant  drive  in  the  summer  or  autumn, 
and  leads  one  down  the  romantic  valley  of  Blue  River. 
For  several  miles  the  road  follows  along  the  limestone 
bluff  on  the  right  side  of  that  stream,  in  many  places 
having  been  excavated  in  the  side  of  the  bluff  forty  or 
more  feet  from  the  water  below.  ^  From  Leavenworth 
on  the  Ohio  River,  the  nearest  point  for  steamers,  the 
distance  is  five  miles. 

According  to  measurements  made  by  Prof.  Collett, 
the  Cave  Hotel  is  220  feet  above  Blue  River,  across 
whose  narrow  valley  "Greenbrier  -Mountain,  with 
sharp,  conical,  peak  and  steep  faces,  belted  with 
massive  rings  of  rock  and  variegated  with  evergreen 
cedars,  affords  a  scene  of  quiet,  stately  beauty."  From 
the  hotel  a  pathway  leads  down  a  gradual  slope  to  the 
mouth  of  the  cave  100  yards  away. 

That  portion  of  Wyandotte  known  previous  to  1850 
is  at  present  called  the  "Old  Cave,"  and  will  be  first 
described,  since  one  must  traverse  a  portion  of  it  in 
order  to  reach  the  entry  of  the  "New  Cave,"  discov- 
ered in  the  year  mentioned. 


20. 
.  21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 

30. 
31. 
32. 


34. 
35. 

36. 
37. 
38. 
39. 

40. 
41. 

42. 

43. 
44. 
45. 
46. 


Saltpetre  Hoppers. 
Arched  Entrance. 
Faneuil  Hall. 
Columbian  Arch. 
Falling  Rock 
Wyandotte  Chief. 
Entrance    to    New 
Cave    and    Fat 
Man's  Misery. 
Banditti  Hall. 
Jacob's  Ladder. 
Pigmy  Dome. 
Debris  Dome. 
Continued  Arch. 
The  Canopy. 
Lucifer's  Gorge. 
Natural  Bridge. 
The  Stoop. 
Temple  of  Honor 
Secret   Entrance  to 
Rothrock's  Straits. 
Odd  Fellows'  Hall. 
Phantom     Ship, 

"Millie." 

Pharaoh'sStairway. 
Conrad's  Hall. 
The  Cliffs. 
The  Pit. 

Falls* of  Minnehaha. 
Dead  Fall. 
Cyclops'  Chasm. 
Dead  Sea. 
Screw  Hole. 
Polished  Bowlders- 
Indian. 

Senate  Chamber. 
Chair  of  State. 
Pluto  Ravine. 
Stal lasso    Monu- 
ment. 

Stillo  Mountain. 
Pillar  of  the  Consti- 
tution. 

Heman's  Bower. 
Hine  Cliffs. 
Lonigan's  Pass. 
Diamond   Laby- 
rinth. 

Emmonecy  Arcade. 
Rode  Rock  No.  1. 
Queen   Mab's   Re- 
treat. 

Snow  Banks. 
Zoe  Grotto. 
Ice  House. 
Frosted  Rock. 


W«£i24 


OuUr  J> 


<A" 

Fig.  33— Map  of  Wyandotte  Cave. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES. 


141 


47.  Snowy  Cliffs.  W. 

48.  Indian  Footprints.  97. 

49.  Beauty's  Bower.  98. 

50.  Queen  Mab's  Marble  Garden.  99. 

51.  Fairy  Palace.  100. 

52.  Wyandotte  Potatoes— Pebbles.  101. 

53.  The  Arm  Chair.  102. 

54.  Lovers'  Retreat.  103. 

55.  EwingHall.  104. 

56.  Frost  King's  Palace.  105. 

57.  Bowlder  Flints.  106. 

58.  Milroy's  Temple.  107. 

59.  Penelope  Grotto.  10«. 

60.  Ulysses'  Straits.  109. 

61.  Rothrock's  Cathedral.  HO. 

62.  Coons' Council  Chamber.  111. 

63.  The  Rotunda.  112. 

64.  Rugged  Mountain.  113. 

65.  Cut  Off.  H4. 

66.  Counterfeiters' Trench.  115. 

67.  Starry  Hall.  llfi. 

68.  Wyandotte  Grand  Council  Chamber.         H7. 

69.  The  Card  Table.  118. 

70.  Hall  of  Representatives.  119. 

71.  Hill  of  Science.  120. 

72.  The  Alligator.  121. 

73.  The  Mound.  122. 

74.  The  Tbrone.  123. 

75.  General  Scott's  Reception  Room.    .  124. 

76.  Ante-room.  125. 

77.  Hovey  Point.  12C.. 

78.  The  Pit  and  Sieve.  127. 

79.  The  Amphitheater.  128. 

80.  Rocky  Hill.  129. 

81.  Muddy  Fork.  130. 

82.  Lost  Rivulet.  131. 

83.  Frozen  Cascades  or  Curtains.  132. 

84.  The  Hippopotamus.  133. 

85.  Fairy  Grotto.  134. 

86.  Neptune's  Retreat.  135. 

87.  Hermit  Cell.  1»>. 

88.  The  Sepulchre.  137. 

89.  Purgatory.  138. 

90.  Calliope  Bower.  139. 

91.  Palace  of  the  Genii;  140. 

92.  Pillared  Palace.  141. 

93.  Creeping  Avenue.  142. 

94.  Junction  Room.  143. 

95.  Drawing  Room.  144. 


Dining  Room. 

Delta  Island. 

Sandy  Plain,  fiOO  feet  long. 

Hill  of  Difficulty. 

Monument  Mountain. 

Sulphur  Spring. 

The  Auger  Hole. 

Lilliputian  Hall. 

Spade's  Grotto. 

Slippery  Hill. 

Hall  of  Ruins. 

White  Cloud  Room. 

'Sentinel  Office. 

Bishop's  Rostrum  or  Pulpit. 

Journal  Office. 

Calypso's,  or  Island  No.  2. 

Ccerulean  Vault. 

Rugged  Pass. 

Chapel. 

Vestry. 

Josephine's  Arcade. 

The  Parsonage. 

The  Junction. 

The  Lone  Chamber  or  Ball  Room. 

Dry  Branch. 

Island  of  Confusion,  or  No.  3. 

Grand  View  Island,  or  No.  4. 

Sandy  Branch  and  Air  Torrent. 

Newhall's  Forum. 

Grosvenor's  Avenue. 

Gothic  Chapel. 

The  Gallery. 

Indian  Footprints. 

The  Den. 

Ship  in  the  Stocks. 

Crawfish  Spring. 

Maggie's  Grotto. 

Joseph's  Pit. 

Lama's  Bower. 

Marble  Rivulet. 

Marble  Hall. 

Miller's  Reach. 

Andrew's  Retreat. 

Rode  Rock  No.  2. 

The  Devil's  Elbow. 

The  Pit. 

Langsdale's  Basin. 

Wash.  Rothrock's  Island. 

Bourbonoi. 


142  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

THE    OLD    CAVE. 

The  entrance  of  Wyandotte  is  twenty  feet  wide  and 
six  feet  high  ;  the  roof  arched,  the  floor  of  earth,  with 
here  and  there  a  fallen  slab  of  rock.  For  perhaps  100 
feet  we  descended  gradually  and  entered  a  spacious 
corridor  known  as  "Faueuil  Hall,"  forty  feet  wide, 
eighteen  feet  high,  and  probably  180  feet  in  length. 
Across  the  farther  end  of  this  hall  a  stone  wall  has 
been  built  and  a  doorway  constructed,  and  through 
this  one  passes  into  "  Twilight  Hall,''  where  the  last 
rays  of  daylight  disappear  and  the  King  of  Darkness 
begins  his  reign.  Here  we  stopped  a  few  moments  to 
accustom  our  eyesight  to  the  changed  conditions. 
Passing  onward  we  soon  entered  the  "Columbian 
Arch,"  an  almost  perfect  semi-cylindrical  tunnel, 
seventy-five  feet  in  length.  From  this  we  emerged 
into  "  Washington  Avenue,"  a  grand  passage-way,  275 
feet  long,  thirty  feet  wide  and  forty  feet  high.  Near 
the  farther  end  is  "Falling  Rock,"  a  huge  mass  of 
limestone,  resting  partly  on  edge,  33x16x14 J  feet  in 
dimensions,  and  weighing,  therefore,  about  535  tons. 
Ages  ago  it  fell  from  the  roof  and  assumed  its  present 
position ;  one  which  earthquakes  have  failed  to 
change,  but  which  appears  dangerous  to  the  average 
visitor  who  passes  beneath  its  towering  form. 

Within  Washington  Avenue  a  peculiar  pungent 
odor  became  noticeable,  and  inquiry  as  to  its  source 
brought  information  from  the  guide  that  in  1884  cer- 
tain gentlemen  from  Evansville  attempted  to  corner 
the  onion  jndustry  of  southern  Indiana  by  buying  up 
all  the  onion  sets  produced  that  season.  Wishing  a 


XI. 


MOUTH  OF  WYANDOTTE  CAVE. 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  143 

suitable  storehouse  they  rented  room  in  the  cave  and 
deposited  therein  several  hundred  barrels  of  the  sets. 
But,  however  suitable  the  pure  cave  air  is  for  the 
preservation  of  sweet  potatoes  and  other  mild  edibles, 
it  failed  to  act  in  like  manner  on  the  onions,  and  they 
soon  began  to  sprout  and  grow.  All  were  lost  and 
were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  cave,  their  shriveled 
skins  and  pungent  odor  still  reminding  the  visitor 
thereto  of  an  attempted  financial  "  corner,"  which 
failed  to  materialize.  Another  odor,  more  strong  and 
disagreeable,  especially  in  autumn  and  winter,  was 
noted  at  this  point  or.  before.  It  was  that  of  the 
exhalations  of  thousands  of  bats  which  make  the  cave 
a  winter  abiding  place.  Their  faint  squealing  notes 
and  flutter  of  wings  were  the  only  sounds  that  greeted 
us  from  the  depths  of  darkness  beyond. 

Passing  under  the  falling  rock  and  up  a  short  decliv- 
ity, we  found  ourselves  in  "Banditti  Hall,"  fifty  feet 
wide,  forty  to  fifty  high,  and  partially  filled  with  rug- 
ged fallen  stone,  grouped  in  great  masses  on  either 
side  of  the  pathway.  Stepping  from  slab  to  slab,  we 
picked  our  way,  until  finally  the  guide  called  a  halt, 
and  lighting  some  "  red  fire,"  directed  our  attention  to 
two  outline  figures  formed  on  the  ceiling  above,  by 
the  scaling  of  the  dark  exterior  from  the  whiter  lime- 
stone. To  one  the  name  "  Wyandotte  Chief"  was 
given  many  years  ago  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Times,  who  wrote  of  it  as  follows  :  "  We  look 
up  and  see  above  the  Falling  Rock  a  mass  of  white 
limestone  resembling  the  front  of  an  Indian  chief, 
with  crown  shorn  to  the  scalp  lock  and  fanciful  ear- 
rings dangling  from  the  ears.  There 'he  hangs,  seem- 


144  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

ingly  suspended,  like  Mahomet's  coffin,  keeping  his 
dark  and  weary  vigils,  waiting  to  gloat  over  the  death 
of  some  daring  pale-face,  crushed  by  the  Falling  Rock 
below."  Upon  the  other  ligure,  which  resembles  the 
facial  characters  sometimes  seen  in  Punch  and  Judy 
shows,  the  fanciful  name  of  " Betsy  and  I  are  Out" 
has  been  bestowed. 

Banditti  Hall  is  the  closing  portion  of  the  common 
entry  to  both  the  Old  and  New  caves.  At  its  farther 
end  the  opening  leading  to  the  Old  Cave  is  seen  on 
the  left,  some  twenty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  floor, 
while  about  the  same  distance  below,  on  our  right, 
op'ens  the  doorway  into  "Fat  Man's  Misery,"  and  the 
New  Cave  beyond. 

Climbing  a  steep  ascent  into  the  Old  Cave,  we  found 
ourselves  at  first  in  a  passage-way  ten  feet  wide  and 
seven  feet  high,  with  the  floor  of  ochery  clay  a  num- 
ber of  feet  thick,  the  walls  of  oolitic  limestone,  and 
the  roof  with  here  and  there  the  more  soluble  portions 
dissolved  until  it  resembles  a  coarse-celled  honeycomb 
in  appearance.  Passing  onward  beneath  "  Pigmy 
Dome,"  we  entered  the  "Continued  Arch,"  a  long 
passage-way,  eight  feet  in  height,  ten  feet  wide,  and 
with  an  occasional  crystal  of  selenite  glistening  on  the 
dry  and  dusty  floor.  From  this  we  passed  into  the 
"Canopy,"  a  circular  room,  twenty  feet  in  diameter 
and  ten  feet  high,  with  a  smooth  white  roof.  This  is 
succeeded  by  another  long,  low  passage,  where  stoop- 
ing is  necessary  for  some  distance,  and  then  wre  passed 
down  through  a  narrow^  passage  into  "Lucifer's 
Gorge,"  forty  feet  deep,  with  precipitous,  jagged  rocks 
overhanging  the  sides.  Up  we  climbed  once  more, 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  145 

from  rock  to  rock,  and,  reaching  another  opening, 
crawled  over  a  natural  bridge,  and  on  hands  and  knees 
crept  for '  seventy-five  feet  through  the  "  Grecian 
Bend."  Finally  we  emerged  into  "Odd  Fellows' 
Hall,"  one  of  the  grand  under-ground  rooms  for  which 
Wyandotte  is  noted  This  we  measured  carefully  and 
found  to  he  ninety  feet  wide,  210  feet  l.ong  and  sixty- 
five  feet  or  more  in  height.  The  massive  ledges  of 
limestone  forming  the  walls  project  toward  the  top, 
each  layer  a  few  inches  farther  than  the  one  below,  so 
that  the  ceiling  is  oval  in  shape,  much  narrower  than 
the  floor  and  appears  to  be  hollowed  out  by  succes- 
sive fallings  of  rock.  Great  masses  of  fallen  rock 
partially  fill  the  room,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  the 
little  brown  bat,  Vespertilio  svtbulatus  Say,  hung  head 
downward  from  the  ceiling.  We  extinguished  the 
lights,  and  their  lowr  squealing  notes  became  instantly 
hushed ;  the  only  sound  which  broke  the  death-like 
stillness  being  a  continuous  faint  and  lisping  noise, 
like  the  ripple  of  water  over  a  distant  water-fall,  due 
probably  to  the  rustle  of  the  wings  of  such  as  were 
Hying  through  the  Plutonian  darkness. 

The  bats  choose  as  a  resting  place  that  part  of  the 
roof  where  small  portions  have  begun  to  Hake,  giving 
a  certain  degree  of  roughness,  or  small  crevices,  to 
which  they  can  cling.  They  cannot  attach  their  claws 

to  a  smooth  surface,  hence  from  large 
Cave  Bats.  ,.  '        , 

portions  ol  the  root  or  a  room  they 

may  be  entirely  absent.  In  places  where  they  find  a 
suitable  foothold  they  congregate  so  closely  together 
that  it  is  difficult  to  pull  one  from  the  midst  of  a 
group.  On  a  low  ceiling  in  Salt  Petre  Cave,  near 

10 


146 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


Wyandotte,  an  area  one  foot  wide  by  one  and  seven- 
tenths  feet  long  was  measured,  and  the  bats  thereon 
were  pulled  off,  one  by  one,  and  counted.  Their 
-number  was  401  on  the  one  and  seven-tenths  square 
feet.  When  pulled  or  knocked  loose  from  the  roof 
they  fell  to  the  floor,  where  they  lay  motionless  for 
some  time,  and.then  began  to  flutter  and  crawl  about, 
finally  becoming  lively  enough  to  fly  and  find  a  new 
resting  place. 


Fig.  34-Little  Brown  Bat. 

Their  squealing  note  was  uttered  only  as  we  passe*  i 
along,  the  light  from  the  candles  evidently  disturbing 
those  which  had  not  yet  entered  their  winter  torpid 
state.  Two  other  sounds  they  seem  capable  of  making, 
one,  the  cry  of  a  single  bat  in  rapid,  broken  notes, 
resembling  the  song  of  a  robin  in  a  minor  key;  the 
other,  a  noise  somewhat  similar  to  the  short,  quick 
alarm  note  made  by  the  common  ground  squirrel, 
Tamias  striatus  (L.),  when  it  espies  some  intruder  on 
its  domain. 

They  show  a  remarkable  sense  of  direction  in  their 
flight,  passing,  in  a  darkness  so  profound  that  man 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  147 

can  see  absolutely  nothing,  swiftly  and  unerringly 
through  openings  but  a  foot  or  two  in  diameter, 
without  hitting  the  walls.  The  direction  of  flight 
seems  to  be,  however,  one  of  instinct  or  training 
rather  than  of  reason,  since  when  a  door  was  first  put 
in  an  opening  in  the  cave  through  which  they  had 
been  wont  to  pass  in  numbers,  they  flew  blindly 
against  it  and  were  killed  by  thousands. 

At  Wyandotte,  as  elsewhere,  the  bats  pass  in  num- 
bers into  the  deepest  recesses,  being  found  abundantly 
in  the  "Senate  Chamber"  and  sparingly  near  "Craw- 
fish Spring,"  two  miles  or  more  from  the  entrance. 

As  is  well  known,  bats  are  crepuscular  in  habit. 
They  spend  the  day  in  darkness  and  the  night  in 
search  of  food.  Such  habits  have,  in  the  course  of 
ages,  rendered  their  eyes  exceedingly  small,  their  ex- 
ternal ears  large,  their  flight,  like  that  of  the  owls  and 
whip-poor-wills,  noiseless.  Several  questions  of  inter- 
est, \vhich  to  my  mind  are  unanswered,  arise  regarding 
the  cave  life  of  these  animals : 

First. — In  a  cave  where  the  temperature  is  54°  F. 
•the  year  round,  how  do  they  determine  when  warm 
weather  has  begun  out  of  doors? 

Second. — How  do  those  which  spend  the  days  of. 
the  summer  season  in  the  cave  determine  the  approach 
of  dusk? 

Third. — How  do  they  distinguish,  in  the  intense 
darkness,  those  portions  of  the  roof  which  are  smooth 
from  those  which  are  rough  enough  to  furnish  a  foot- 
hold? 

On  the  right  side  and  about  fifty  feet  from  the 
entrance  to  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  is  a  pit-hole  or  per- 


148  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

pendicular  cleft  in  the  floor,  through  which  an  average 
sized  man  can  just  squeeze  himself.  This  is  the  open- 
ing into  "liothrock's  Straits,"  a  deep  and  narrow 
passage-w^ay  which  connects  with  "liothrock's  Ca- 
thedral," a  room  of  the  New  Cave. 

From  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  we  climhed  by  a  rugged 
stairway  and  passed  onward  through  narrow  passages, 
and  beside  pits  and  chasms — the  way  ever  seeming  to 
grow  rougher — the  hills  and  valleys  following  each 
other  in  rapid  succession.  In  one  place  we  descended 
fully  fifty  feet  and  from  the  bottom  noted  on  our  right 
the  perpendicular  walls  of  rock  known  as  the  "  Cliffs." 
Over  these  in  ages  past  a  drapery  of  stalactites  has 
been  thrown  in  graceful  folds,  resembling  a  cascade 
wrhich  in  mid-air  has  been  congealed  into  stone,  and 
is  most  worthy  of  its  name — "The  Falls  of  Minne- 
haha."  Below  these  overhanging  cliffs  is  the  gaping 
mouth  of  the  "Pit" — a  deep  cavity  leading  by  one 
drop  fifty  feet  into  space — as  yet  unexplored.  From 
the  foot  of  the  Cliffs  we  made  our  way  with  difficulty 
up  "Uncle  Sam's  Stairway"  and  then  under  the  "Dead 
Fall,"  a  large  flat  rock  which  lies  at  an  incline  across 
the  passage,  the  upper  edge  supported  by  less  than 
three  inches  of  a  thin  rock  projecting  from  the  wall. 
From  this  point  onward,  for  a  distance  of  perhaps 
1,000  feet,  the  way  is  a  succession  of  steep  climbs  and 
steeper  descents,  varied  by  an  occasional  crawl  on 
hands  and  knees  and  a  final  twisting  of  the  body 
into  shapes  innumerable  in  order  to  effect  the  pass- 
age of  the  "Screw  Hole,"  which  forms  the  portal 
to  the  "Senate  Chamber,"  the  final  room  of  the  Old 
Cave. 


XII. 


1.  TOBACCO  SHEDS,  MARENGO  CAVE. 

2.  PILLAR  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION,  WYANDOTTE  CAVE. 
The  opening  at  base  of  Pillar  is  a  part  of  the  Ancient  Quarry. 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  149 

Collett  described  the  Senate  Chamber  "as  a  vast 
elliptical  amphitheater,  estimated  at  six  hundred  feet 
long  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide.  The  sides 
are  built  up  with  massive  ledges  of  limestone,  thin- 
ning and  converging  upward  into  a  monster  dome, 
with  a  flat  elliptical  crown  fifty  by  twenty  feet  in 
diameter.  The  center  of  this  vast  room  is  piled  up 
with  a  great  mass  of  rocky  debris  fallen  from  the 
immense  cavity  above." 

Other  than  the  dimensions,  this  was  an  excellent 
description.  Exact  measurements  show  the  room  to 
be  144  feet  long  and  56  feet  in  width.  The  mass  of 
fallen  rock  in  the  center,  known  as  "  Capitol  Hill,"  is 
about  thirty-two  feet  in  height  and  is  crowned  to  a 
depth  of  several  feet  with  an  immense  mass  of  stalag- 
mitic  material.  From  the  center  of  this  mass  rises 
from  the  top  of  the  hill  the  grandest  natural  wonder 
in  Wyandotte  Cave — the  great  fluted  column  of  crys- 
talline carbonate  of  lime,  known  as  the  "Pillar  of 
the  Constitution."  Perfectly  cylindrical,  seventy-one 
feet  in  circumference,  and  extending  from  the  crest 
of  the  hill  to  the  ceiling  above,  this  enormous  column 
exceeds  in  magnitude  any  similar  formation  in  any 
known  cave  on  earth.  From  the  point  where  it  first 
became  visible  in  the  dim  light  of  our  candles  it 
appeared  "like  an  immense  spectral  iceberg  looming 
up  before  us,  looking  as  if  it  had  just  arisen  from  the 
foaming  waves  of  the  ocean  on  a  dark  and  foggy 
night."  The  entire  column  is  composed  of  "satin- 
spar" —  a  rather  soft,  white,  striated  mineral,  the 
purest  form  of  carbonate  of  lime.  From  one  side, 
near  the  base  of  the  column,  has  been  removed  by  the 


150  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Indians,  or  some  prehistoric  race  in  ages  past,  hun- 
dreds of  cubic  feet  of  this  material. 

Up  to  1877  it  was  generally  supposed  that  the 
whites  had  made  this  excavation.  In  1864  J.  P.  Stelle 
wrote  of  it  as  follows  :  "  For  fifty  years  the  people  of 
a  civilized — aye,  a  Christian  nation,  have  visited  the 
Senate  Chramber,  not  as  admirers  of  the  great  God 
who  has  reared  for  himself  such  a  magnificent  temple, 
but  as  vandals.  All  the  most  interesting  formations 
within  their  reach  have  been  broken  up  or  carried 
away ;  and  even  the  great  pillar  itself  has  not  been 
exempt  from  their  attack,  for  an  excavation  has  been 
made  in  its  side  which  must  have  required  days  of 
hard  labor,  and  from  which  large  quantities  of  the 
purest  white  stone  have  been  taken  and  scattered 
over  the  floor  of  the  cave." 

Prof.  Collett,  in  1877,  found  three  glacial  bowlders 
in  the  Senate  Chamber,  which,  "from  indications, 
such  as  wear  and  bruises,  had  been  used  as  hammers 
or  grinding  pestles,  and  proved  conclusively  that  that 
part  of  the  Old  Cave  had  been  visited,  if  not  occupied, 
by  men  of  the  Stone  Age." 

Eev.  H.  C.  Hovey,  in  1882,  first  claimed  that  the 
excavation  had  been  made  by  Indians  "  more  than 
1,000  years  ago,"  and  that  the  "round  or  oblong  bowl- 
ders" of  granite  rock  were  the  implements  with 
which  the  ancient  quarrymen  wrought,  being  used 
"in  breaking  from  this  alabaster  quarry  blocks  of  a 
portable  size  and  convenient  shape." 

H.  C.  Mercer,  in  1894,  visited  the  quarry  and  men- 
tions the  finding,  by  Mr.  Rothrock,  of  a  pick  made  of 
stag's  autlers  and  states  that  "the  proof  of  Indian 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  151 

work  at  the  spot  was  satisfactory  and  of  a  character 
never  noticed  and  studied  before  the  discovery  of  the 
site." 

These  constituted  the  recorded  observations  of  the 
quarry  up  to  the  time  of  my  first  visit  in  July,  1896. 
It  was  then  noted  that  the  quantity  of  spalls  arid 
flakes  of  the  material  thrown  over  the  side  of  the 
hill  was  very  great,  and  that  no  digging  had  been 
done  to  discover  the  nature  or  thickness  of  the  debris 
on-  top  of  the  hill,  nor  to  more  fully 
verify  the  statement  that  the  work 
had  been  done  by  Indians.  My  time 
being  limited,  no  excavations  were  made  at  this 
visit,  but  on  a  subsequent  one,  in  November,  1896,  I 
secured  the  services  of  a  workman  and  shovels  and 
again  visited  the  place.  Careful  measurements 
showed  that  above  the  debris  a  space  eight  feet  long, 
six  feet  high  and  five  feet  wide,  or  240  cubic  feet,  had 
been  quarried  from  the  column.  The  top  of  the  hill 
on  which  the  column  rests  was  found  to  be  covered 
with  an  area  14  feet  square  of  the  debris,  and  through 
this,  close  alongside  the  base  of  the  column,  a  trench 
was  dug,  eight  feet  long,  three  feet  wide,  and  to  the 
solid  stalagmite  beneath.  It  averaged  four  feet  three 
inches  in  depth — i.  e.,  at  that  point  the  debris  or 
pieces  of  quarried  material  and  other  matter  was 
that  thick.  A  perpendicular  section  through  this 
trench  disclosed  the  following  layers: 

1.  Ashes  in  a  compressed,  damp  bed,  with  occasional 

flakes  of  stalagmite  intermingled 14.0  inches. 

2.  Charcoal 1.0  inch. 

3.  Ashes,  with  flakes  of  rock     . .  3.5  inches. 


152  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

4.  Rectangular     flakes    of    stalagmite    or    satin-spar, 

varying  in  size  from  an  inch  or  two  square  to 
pieces  8x3x1  inches,  or  even  larger,  with  occa- 
sional traces  of  charcoal  intermingled 28.0  inches. 

5.  Charcoal : 0.5  inch. 

6.  Flakes  of  stalagmite 4.0  inches. 

Six  quartzose  bowlders,  weighing  from  three  to  six 
pounds,  were  found  scattered  through  the  mass  which 
we  threw  aside,  two  of  them  within  a  few  inches  of 
the  bottom.  They  were  worn  with  use,  and  on  the  sur- 
face of  two  or  three  of  them  were  depressions  which 
appeared  to  be  finger  marks  due  to  excessive  use. 
At  any  rate,  they  must  have  enabled  the  workman  to 
retain  the  rock  hammer  more  firmly  in  his  grasp. 

The  remains  of  horns  of  five  different  deer,  which 
mostly  crumbled  when  disinterred,  ajad  numerous 
small  bones,  also  too  much  decayed  to  identify  to 
what  animals  they  formerly  belonged,  were  found  at 
intervals  in  the  trench. 

By  digging  in  a  few  other  spots  it  was  found  that 
an  area  14x14  feet,  on  top  of  this  hill  and  at  the  base 
of  the  column,  was  covered  to  an  average  depth  of 
three  and  one-half  feet  with  the  particles  of  stone 
quarried.  In  addition  to  this,  no  less  than  twenty 
tons  of  the  material  had  been  pitched  over  the  hill. 
Much,  if  not  all,  of  this  additional  space  was  formerly 
occupied  by  stalagmitic  material,  the  base  of  the  col- 
umn flaring  outward  on  this  side,  and  when  the  space 
already  mentioned  as  having  been  quarried  above  the 
debris  is  taken  into, consideration,  there  is  little  doubt 
but  that  more  than  1,000  cubic  feet  of  the  stalagmite 
has  been  broken  loose. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  158 

In  October,  1898,  I  visited  the  quarry  for  the  third 
time,  and  dug  in  the  debris  for  several  hours.  Eight 
additional  bowlders  of  quartzose  and  many  pieces  of 
horn,  crumbling  bone  and  baked  clay,  were  brought 
to  light.  Five  wedge-shaped  pieces  of  rock,  one  of 
flint,  the  others  of  limestone,  were  also  found  among 
the  flakes  of  stalagmite.  These  had  irregular  notches 
in  their  edges  showing  that  they,  together  with  the 
horns  found  in  the  debris,  were  most  probably  used  as 
wedges  to  pry  loose  the  pieces  of  satin-spar  after  the 
latter  had  been  cracked  by  the  stone  hammers.  Such 
horns  and  wedges  of  stone  have  been  found  in  a 
number  of  caves  in  Europe,  where,  ages  ago,  they 
were  put  to  similar  use. 

A  large  quantity  of  wood  must  have  been  necessary 
to  have  produced  such  a  bed  of  ashes  as  was  found. 
The  carrying  this  in  over  the  seventeen  rough  hills 
and  through  narrow  passes,  through  which  one  has 
to  crawl  and  where  more  than  a  candle  is  a  burden  to 
the  ordinary  visitor,  must  have  entailed  a  vast  amount 
of  labor  and  leads  one  to  suppose  that  the  material 
sought  was  used  for  a  purpose  deemed  especially  val- 
uable. What  that  purpose  was  I  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  ascertain,  there  being  few  objects  made  of 
stalagmite  among  the  "Indian  relics"  in  any  collec- 
tion or  museum  in  the  United  States. 

Down  the  sides  of  the  Pillar  of  the  Constitution 
tiny  streams  of  water  are  constantly  trickling,  and, 
spreading  out  upon  the  top  of  the  hill,  quickly  evap- 
orate, leaving  behind  their  solid  particles  to  make 
thicker  the  crust  of  so-called  "  alabaster"  which  covers 
the  rough  edges  of  the  mass  of  rocks.  This  action 


154  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

will  continue  for  thousands  of  years,  until  ultimately, 
by  continued  accretions,  this  hill  will  reach  the  ceiling 
and  enclose  entirely  the  wondrous  pillar  with  its 
flirtings  and  carvings,  wrought  in  ages  past  by  that 
magic  graver — water. 

Over  the  damp  stalagmite  forming  the  crest  of 
Capitol  Hill  numerous  specimens  of  the  cave  myriapod, 
Pseudotremia  eavernarum  Cope,  were  rapidly  crawling. 
Here  also  the  little  red  harvestman,  first  noted  in 
Clifty  Cave,  was  found  in  numbers,  and  is  probably 
utilized  by  the  myriapod  as  one  of  its  articles  of  food. 

Back  of  the  Pillar  of  the  Constitution  is  the  '•  Chair 
of  State" — another  handsome  mass  of  stalactites  and 
stalagmites — that  extends  from  the  top  of  the  hill  to 
the  ceiling.  Behind  this  on  the  right  is  the  entrance 
to  "Pluto's  Ravine,"  the  roof  of  which  is  studded  with 
representations  of  sprigs,  twTining  tendrils  and  branch- 
ing corals,  all  wrought  from  calcite  and  "alabaster" 
in  most  exquisite  fashion  by  the  hand  of  nature. 
Many  are  broken,  being  the  remains  of  those  removed 
before  1850,  when  the  cave  and  its  contents  were  es- 
teemed but  lightly  by  the  owner,  and  no  care  was 
taken  to  prevent  its  despoliation  by  visiting  vandals. 
Beyond  this  point  one  can  penetrate  but  a  few  }^ards 
in  the  Old  Cave,  the  roof  and  floor  coming  close  to- 
gether, and  barring  further  progress. 

Much  diversity  of  opinion  prevails  as  to  the  distance 
between  the  Pillar  of  the  Constitution  and  the  mouth 
of  the  cave.  Stelle,  in  his  work  published  in  1864, 
says  it  is  "just  three  miles."  Both  Collett  and  Hovey 
place  it  at  two  miles.  Flint,  in  1833,  before  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  exaggerate  the  distance,  gives  it 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  155 

as  one  and  a  quarter  miles,  and  this  is  probably  not 
far  from  correct.  The  rough  character  of  the  passage, 
the  many  steep  ascents  and  corresponding  declivities, 
added  to  the  oppressive  silence,  cause  persons  unac- 
customed to  subterranean  travels  to  think  the  distance 
much  greater  than  it  really  is. 

THE    NEW    CAVE. 

In  1850  a  party  from  Fredonia,  Indiana,  observed 
that  a  current  of  air  was  passing  from  beneath  a  large, 
loosely  placed,  flat  rock  at  the  inner  end  of  Banditti 
Hall,  about  1,000  feet  from  the  entrance  of  the  cave. 
They  succeeded  in  prying  thexock  loose  and  found  a 
narrow  descending  passage,  since  known  as  the  "  Scut- 
tle" or  "Fat  Man's  Misery."  This  they  entered  and 
passed  through,  and  for  the  first  time  white  men  stood 
in  the  "New  Cave."  The  ceiling  of  the  first  room 
entered,  which  is  called  "Bat's  Lodge,"  was  then  black 
with  smoke.  Fragments  of  charred  hickory  bark 
strewed  the  floor,  while  moccasin  tracks,  now  entirely 
^obliterated,  were  plentiful.  Hundreds  of  poles  of 
sassafras,  papawr,  lin,  and  other  soft  woods  were 

found  both  in  this  room  and  in  that 
Rout°  portion  of  Rothrock's  Straits  nearest 

the  New  Cave.  None  of  these  f>oles 
had  been  cut  with  a  sharp  instrument,  but  all  had 
been  twisted  from  the  parent  stem  or  hacked  there- 
from with  dull  stone  axes.  On  the  left  side  of  the 
room  was  found  a  sloping  bank  of  earth  and  sand  in 
which  bark,  sticks,  leaves  and  bunches  of  twisted 
grass  were  plentiful.  Digging  into  this  bank  in 


156  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

November,  1896,  numerous  pieces  of  bunch  grass,  the 
inside  bark  of  lin  and  poplar  trees  and  short  stems  of 
weeds  were  found.  These  were,  probably,  remnants 
of  a  store  of  fuel  resorted  to  when  the  torches  waned 
or  a  relight  was  needed. 

Bat's  Lodge  is  a  IOAV  room  70  feet  long,  21  feet  wide 
and  five  to  six  feet  high,  the  walls  and  roof  begrimed 
with  the  smoke  of  ancient  fires,  and  the  floor  a  mix- 
ture of  dry,  dusty  earth,  with  here  and  there  a  piece 
of  fallen  limestone.  From  the  mouth  of  the  cave  to 
this  point  is  a  gradual  descension,  and  barometer 
measurements  showed  the  floor  to  be  150  feet  lower 
than  the  Cave  Hotel.  Beyond  this  room  the  roof  so 
closely  approaches  the  floor  that,  in  1856,  "  Counter- 
feiter's Trench"  was  dug  through  the  earthy  deposit 
which  had  silted  up  the  way.  Through  this  trench 
we  easily  passed  and  found  ourselves  at  the  foot  of 
"Rugged  Mountain,"  a  mass  of  broken  pieces  of  lime- 
stone, thirty  feet  or  more  in  height,  which  fills  the 
greater  part  of  a  large  room.  Climbing  this  moun- 
tain we  reached  the  "Rotunda"  or  upper  portion  of 
the  room,  52  feet  one  way  by  90  feet  the  other,  with* 
the  roof  16  feet  above  the  top  of  the  mass  of  rock. 
Around  the  edges  of 'the  room  are  numerous  deposits 
of  fine,  white,  needle-shaped  crystals  of  epsom  salts 
(magnesium  sulphate)  encrusting  the  rocks  and  spar- 
kling like  frostwork  in  the  light  of  our  candles.  They 
seem  to  exude  from  a  porous  matrix  of  magnesian 
limestone,  and  if  not  disturbed  often  attain  a  length 
of  three  to  five  inches.  Passing  down  Rugged  Moun- 
tain on  the  farther  side  we  entered  "  Hanover  Chapel," 
where  numerous  artificial  piles  of  heavy  stonesr,  dedi- 


INDIANA  CA  VEti.  157 

cated  to  some  Greek  fraternity  or  college  class,  stand 
as  monuments  to  the  muscular  ability  of  visiting 
students  in  days  gone  by.  * 

A  short  distance  beyond  this  point  we  climbed 
again  and  entered  the  "Coon's  Council  Chamber,"  a 
circular  room  35  feet  in  diameter.  Here  two  bands 
of  blackish  flint  or  jasper  about  four  inches  in  thick- 
ness, first  noted  in  descending  Fat  Man's  Misery,  are 
very  prominent  around  the  walls.  A  few  yards  far- 
ther on  we  came  to  "Delta  Island,"  an  uneroded  mass 
of  limestone,  50  feet  long  by  20  feet  wide,  on  either 
side  of  which  one  may  enter  that  part  of  the  cave 
called  the  "  South  Branch,"  which  forms  the  greater 
portion  of  the  Short  Route. 

Between  Banditti  Hall  and  Delta  Island  a  small 
Tineid  moth,  Blabophanes  ferruginella  Hbn.,  closely 
related  to  the  common  clothes  moth,  occurs  in  num- 
bers. Its  presence  in  such  a  place  is  worthy  of  espe- 
cial notice  since  no  other  instance  is  on  record  of  a 
member  of  the  order  Lepidoptera,tv  which  belong  the 
moths  and  butterflies,  being  an  inhabitant  of  caves. 
This  moth  was  found  in  May,  July  and  November, 
close  to  the  floor  and  always  in  the 
Inhabftin  vicinity  of  the  decaying  remains  of 
Moth.  kats  ancl  other  refuse  matter  upon 
which  its  larvae  feed. 

It  is  one-fourth  of  an  inch  or  more  in  length,  and 
its  wings  expand  about  two-thirds  of  an  inch.  On  the 
head  is  a  tuft  of  rust-red  hairs.  The  fore-wings  are 
grayish-brown,  with  a  violet  tinge  in  fresh  specimens, 
and  a  broad  buff  margin  along  the  inner  edge,  which,  in 
repose,  forms  a  conspicuous  buff  stripe  along  the  back, 


158  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

The  pupal  cases  are  dark  gray,  densely  felted,  and 
one-fourth  of  an  inch  or  more  in  length.  They  were 
found  attached  to  small  projections  of  the  wall,  close 
to  the  floor,  or  on  the  under  side  of  stones  which  rested 
loosely  on  the  floor. 

The  moth  seldom  flies,  but  crawls  very  rapidly  or 
leaps  short  distances,  when  disturbed.  It  was  first 
described  in  Europe,  where  it  occurs  among  pelts  and 
furs.  Its  presence  in  Wyandotte  Cave  can  only  be 
accounted  for  by  its  accidental  introduction  on  the 
clothing  of  guides  or  visitors.  As  yet  it  shows  no  dif- 
ference in  color  or  structure  from  open-air  types  of 
the  same  species,  but  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  in  years  to  come  there  may.be  perceptible  modi- 
fication in  these  respects,  as  has  been  observed  in 
other  cave  inhabiting  forms. 

The  introduction  of  this  European  moth  into  a  cave 
like  Wyandotte,  and  its  rapid  adaptation  to  the  peculiar 
environment  there  found,  is  an  excellent  proof  of  the 
now  commonly  accepted  theory  that  all  cave  animals  are 
but  the  descendants  of  seeing  forms,  which  in  the  past, 
have  thus  accidentally  found  their  way  into  caverns. 

In  the  same  region  in  which  the  moth  occurred 
were  numerous  specimens  of  a  small  dark-brown  gnat 
or  fly  about  one-twelfth  of  an  inch  in  length.  It  was 
found  to  be  new  to  science,  and  has  since  been  de- 
scribed as  Limosina  tenebrarum.  Aldrich.  It  occurs 
beneath  stones,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  remains  of  bats 
which  are  killed  in  numbers  by  the  cats  which  fre- 
quent the  cave.  This  insect  has  the  power  of  leaping 
several  inches  when  disturbed  and  seldom  uses  the 
wings  in  endeavoring  to  escape. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  159 

Passing  to  the  right  of  Delta  Island  we  entered  the 
"Dining  Room,"  forty  feet  wide,  ten  feet  high  arid 
seventy  feet  in  length,  the  monotony  of  the  limestone 
walls  being  relieved  by  several  bands  of  jet  black 
flint,  about  three  feet  apart.  One  of  these  bands  has 
the  flint  in  quadrangular  blocks,  while  in  the  others 
it  is  in  nodules,  many  of  which  are  several  inches  in 
diameter.  Sometimes  these  nodules  resemble  in  form 
a  geode,  and  when  broken  show  a  crystalline  center, 
the  siliceous  particles  having  collected  arid  crystallized 
about  a  common  nucleus. 

Leaving  the  Dining  Room  we  proceeded  through  a 
short  pass  to  the  "Drawing  Room,"  whose  dimensions 
are  about  25x10x60  feet,  and  from  this  into  the 
"  Junction  Room."  From  here  three  passages  diverge, 
one  to  the  left  through  "  Creeping  Avenue,"  one 
straight  ahead  to  the  right  of  the  "  Continent,"  the 
latter  being  a  vast  mass  of  uneroded  limestone, 
around  which  the  two  branches  of  the  old  subterra- 
nean river  formerly  flowed;  while -the  third  passage, 
known  as  the  "Cut  Oft',"  turns  abruptly  to  the  right 
and  merging  into  a  short,  tortuous,  descending  pass- 
age-way, leads  out  into  the  main  cave  between  Coun- 
terfeiter's Trench  and  Rugged  Mountain. 

Taking  the  passage  past  the  right  of  the  Continent 
we  entered  the  "Council  Chamber,"  a  spacious  room, 
15x50x100  feet,  which,  like  Hanover  Hall,  contains 
many  artificial  monuments,  erected  in  the  past  by 
enthusiastic  visitors  who  knew  no  better  way  of  pro- 
claiming to  the  world  the  fact  of  their  existence. 
Narrowing  again,  the  main  passage  continues  for  per- 
haps 200  feet,  when  once  more  it  expands  into  another 


160  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  those  grand  subterranean  rooms  which  characterize 
W'yandotte  Cave.  This  has  been  dubbed  the  "Hall 
of  Representatives,"  accurate  measurements  showing 
it  to  be  100x160  feet,  with  the  ceiling  35  feet  above 
those  masses  of  fallen  rock  which  in  the  past  filled 
the  space  of  the  broad  overhanging  dome.  Where 
these  large  rooms  occur,  the  old  river  which  formed 
the  cave  must  have  flowed  over  a  softer  portion  of 
rock  and  eroded  or  dissolved  a  great  basin  in  the  bed 
or  floor  of  the  channel,  perhaps  escaping  by  an  outlet 
now  hidden.  In  time  the  roof,  no  longer  self-support- 
ing, came  tumbling  down  and  partially  filled  the  basin. 
From  most  of  the  rooms,  as  from  the  Hall  of  Repre- 
sentatives, one  must  climb  twenty  or  more  feet  to  the 
mouth  of  the  passage  leading  onward. 

Beyond  this  hall  we  descended  the  "  Hill  of  Science" 
into  a  lower  portion  of  the  cave,  from  which  a  low, 
wet  side  passage  turns  to  the  right.  Here  for  the  first 
time  we  encountered  mud,  and  the  floor  of  the  "No. 
10"  passage,  as  it  is  called,  is  for  the  greater  portion 
of  the  year  covered  to  a  depth  of  several  inches  with 
standing  water.  We  next  arrived  at  the  junction 
room,  called  "Jordan's  Wait,"  where  that  noted 
scientist,  Dr.  I).  S.  Jordan,  once  had  several  hours  for 
cool  reflection,  having  been  left  in  total  darkness  by 
the  accidental  extinguishing  of  a  candle  which  he  had 
no  means  of  relighting.  This  junction  room  is  located 
at  the  foot  of  the  Continent,  where  the  passage  which 
turned  to  the  left  around  that  body,  meets  the  one 
through  which  we  had  traveled. 

Proceeding  onward,  we  entered  the  most  southern 
arm  of  the  cave,  and,  passing  through  a  damp-floored 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  161 

passage,  150  feet  long  by  thirty  feet  wide,  we  found 
ourselves  at  the  foot  of  a  slippery  hill  on  top  of  which 
is  one  of  the  most  handsome  formations  in  the  cave — 
the  "  Throne  and  Canopy."  The  former  is  composed 
of  a  circle  of  rounded  stalagmites  cemented  together 
and  having  the  general  appearance  of  a  throne  of 
state,  while  at  a  distance  of  six  feet  above  is  a  curtain 
of  broad,  leaf-like  stalactites  draped  in  a  graceful 
semi-circle  and  attached  to  a  projecting  mass  of  crys- 
talline limestone.  From  a  crevice  or  seam  between 
the  massive  layers  forming  the  walls  the  water  has, 
for  ages,  seeped ;  then  evaporating,  has  produced  these 
charming  natural  wonders  and  given  a  slippery  coat 
of  stalagmite  to  the  surface  of  the  hill  below. 

In  the  "  Spring  of  Deception,"  close  by  the  throne, 
were  noted  in  July  numerous  specimens  of  a  small 
shrimp-like  crustacean,  Crangonyx  packardii  Smith. 
It  swims  very  rapidly,  jerking  itself  hither  and  thither 
through  the  water  in  a  zigzag  course,  and  is  extremely 
difficult  to  capture.  In  November  the  water  in  this 
spring  had  disappeared  and  the  bottom  was  covered 
with  very  soft,  sticky  mud.  In  this  a  number  of  small 
holes,  resembling  the  burrows  or  pits  of  angle-worms, 
were  noted.  Each  had  numerous  particles  of  dry, 
sand-like  grains  of  mud  about  the  mouth.  The  pits 
were  probed  and  cut  out  with  a  knife,  but  no  living 
form  could  be  found.  They  were  probably  formed 
by  the  small  Crangonyx,  of  which  no  trace  remained. 
The  same  crustacean  occurs  in  numbers  in  Crayfish 
Spring  near  the  end  of  the  Long  Route. 

Beyond  the  Throne  is  a  long  stretch  of  partly  ex- 
plored avenues  and  side  branches,  through  which 
11 


162  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

visitors  are  not  often  taken,  there  being  therein  but 
one  scene  of  more  than  passing  interest.  This  is 
"Helen's  Dome/7  so  named  by  that  Nestor  of  cave 
explorers,  the  Rev.  II.  C.  Hovey,  in  honor  of  his  wife. 
To  reach  it  one  must  pass  through  "  General  Scott's 
Reception  Room,"  75  by  100  feet  in  dimensions,  and 
then  by  stooping  and  crawling  through  a  narrow 
passage  into  "  Diamond  Avenue,"  where  nature 
asserts  her  power  to  work  miracles  of  beauty  from 
cheap  materials,  transforming  gypsum  and  epsom 
salts  into  lustrous  crystals  which  sparkle 'on  the  walls 
and  glisten  from  the  floor.  Leaving  a  branch  to  the 
right,  we  turned  to  the  left,  and  passing  cautiously 
beneath  a  poised  mass  of  fallen  rock,  which  seemed 
ready  to  fall  at  the  slightest  touch,  we  entered  a  large 
opening  midway  between  roof  and  floor,  and  a  few  feet 
farther  on  found  ourselves  at  the  foot  of  a  great  circu- 
lar pit  some  twenty  feet  in  diameter  and  extending  up- 
ward through  the  solid  limestone  for  eighty  feet  or  more. 

This  was  Helen's  Dome,  and  when  the  guide  kindled 
his  "red  fire,"  and  the  light  therefrom  revealed  the 
rugged,  water-worn  carvings  of  the  sides,  and  the 
pendent  stalactites,  which  far  above  gleamed  and 
glistened  from  their  inaccessible  heights,  we  with  one 
accord  voted  it  the  wildest  and  most  romantic  bit  of 
scenery  which  the  cave  possessed. 

Retracing  our  steps  to  Jordan's  Wait,  we  took  the 
right  branch  around  the  Continent.  This  led  us  on 
through  a  low  passage  known  as  "Purgatory,"  140 
feet  in  length,  its  floor  of  yellow  ochre,  with  here  and 
there  a  handsome  crystal  of  selenite  ;  its  roof  of  white 
limestone,  with  many  fantastic  grooves  and  carvings 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  163 

wrought  in  days  of  yore  by  the  slow  but  powerful 
energy  of  flowing  water. 

Emerging  from  Purgatory  we  assumed  once  more  a 
standing  posture,  and  found  ourselves  in  "  Calliope's 
Bower,"  where  many  stalactites  grace  the  walls  and 
ceiling.  From  thence  we  passed  into  ''Whispering 
Gallery,"  where  the  floor  resounded  to  our  tread  and 
the  low  tones  of  our  voices  were  echoed  back  and 
forth  from  the  arched  sides  in  a  manner  similar  to  that 
noted  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  and  empty  cistern. 
Then  came  the  "Palace  of  the  Genii,"  where  these 
gods  of  fable  dwell  beneath  a  roof  spangled  with  glit- 
tering crystals  of  calcite  and  gypsum.  The  "Pillared 
Palace"  follows,  and  therein  is  found  a  wealth  and 
profusion  of  cave  formations  such  as  no  words  of  man 
can  properly  picture.  Pillars,  stalagmites  and  stalac- 
tites abound  of  every  conceivable  form  which  the  fancy 
can  suggest.  Many  of  the  stalactites  are  no  larger  in 
diameter  than  a  lead  pencil  and  are  curved  and  twisted 
in  a  unique  and  grotesque  manner  seen  elsewhere  in 
no  Indiana  cave.  This  bent  and  twisted  condition  is 
doubtless  due  to  the  varying  currents  of  air  which  pass 
through  portions  of  the  cave  and  force  the  tiny  drops 
of  water  on  the  end  of  the  stalactite  first  to  one  side 
and  then  to  the  other  of  the  tip.  The  air  of  Wyan- 
dotte  flows  outward,  or  toward  the  mouth,  in  summer, 
and  inward,  or  toward  the  depths  of  the  cave,  in 
winter.  This  difference  in  direction  of  flow  can  but 
have  its  influence  on  the  formation  of  such  slender 
structures  as  those  above  mentioned. 

Emerging  from  the  Pillared  Palace  by  an  ample 
doorway,  flanked  by  handsome  pillars  of  calcite,  we 


164  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

found  on  our  left  a  room  where  strata  of  jasper  nod- 
ules abound  in  the  walls  and  where  numerous  chips 
and  splinters  of  jasper  are  abundant  on  the  floor. 
Rev.  H.  C.  Hoyey  first  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  supposed  "bear  wallows"  of  this  room  are  depres- 
sions where,  in  the  treacherous  light  of  bark  torches, 
ancient  workmen  had  reclined  while  they  worked 
down  to  partial  finish  the  desired  blocks  of  jasper. 
Numerous  fragments  of  charcoal  and  large  heaps  of 
chips  of  jasper  were  about  each  depression,  but,  though 
careful  search  was  made,  no  partially  finished  article 
of  jasper  was  found.  The  fragments  were  mostly 
oblong,  with  the  faces  parallel,  their  dimensions  being, 
on  an  average,  about  4  x  2  x  J  inches.  Several  quartz- 
ite  bowlders  have  been  found  in  the  room,  where  they 
were  doubtless  carried  to  be  used  as  implements  in 
splitting  the  blocks  of  jasper  or  in  loosening  them 
from  the  walls. 

This  ancient  quarry-room  is  succeeded  by  "  Creep- 
ing Avenue,"  where  the  roof,  for  a  distance  of  172 
feet  comes  down  to  within  two  and  one-half  feet  of 
the  floor,  and  progress  is  possible  only  upon  the  hands 
and  knees.  According  to  the  guide,  the  dry  ness  of 
this  portion  of  the  cave  is  slowly  increasing  and,  as  a 
consequence,  epsom  salts  (magnesium  sulphate)  is 
becoming  more  abundant.  Where  the  cave  is  damp 
with  dripping  water,  stalactites  and  other  forms  of 
calcium  carbonate  are  abundant;  where  the  dripping 
has  ceased  but  the  walls  still  give  off  more  or  less 
dampness,  calcium  sulphate  or  gypsum  is  the  prevail- 
ing formation,  and  where  perfectly  dry  the  epsom 
salts  alone  are  being  produced. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  165 

The  tiresome  crawl  through  Creeping  Avenue  fin- 
ished, we  stood  erect  once  more  in  the  Junction  Room 
at  the  head  of  the  Continent  and  the  exploration  of 
the  Short  Route  was  at  an  end.  The  length  of  the 
portions  passed  through  was  estimated  to  be  about  as 
follows : 

Fat  Man's  Misery  to  Delta  Island 1,200  feet. 

Delta  Island  via  Creeping  Avenue  to  Hovey's  Point 2,400  feet. 

Jordan's  Wait  via  House  of  Representatives  to  the  end  of 

the  Cut  Off 2,000  feet. 

Total 5,600  feet  or  1.06  miles. 

In  going  through  what  is  known  as  the  "Long 
Route"  in  Wyandotte,  we  passed  from  the  mouth  of 
the  cave  to  Delta  Island  over  the  same  way  as  described 
above  under  the  "  Short  Route."  At  Delta  Island  we 
turned  to  the  left  and  traversed  the  "  Sandy  Plain," 
a  passage  about  350  feet  long,  twenty-five  feet  wide 
and  six  to  ten  feet  high  ;  the  floor  of  which  is  covered 
in  places  to  a  depth  of  several  feet  with  sand  deposited 
by  the  ancient  cave  river.  At  the  end 

of  the  Plain  we  found  ourselves  at  tlie 
foot  of  the  "Hill  of  Difficulty,"  which 

is  but  a  mass  of  fallen  rock,  forming,  as  it  were,  a 
foot-hill  to  the  grander  "Monument  Mountain"  which 
lies  beyond.  On  the  left,  in  climbing  this  hill,  the 
guide  pointed  out  the  exit  of  Rothrock's  Straits,  that 
narrow  and  deeper  passage  connecting  the  Old  and 
New  caves. 

Reaching  the  top  of  the  Hill  of  Difficulty,  we  were 
within  the  confines  of  the  largest  under-ground  room 
yet  known  to  man — "  Rothrock's  Grand  Cathedral." 


166  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Before  us  in  the  dim  candle  light  was  a  towering 
mass  of  fallen  rock,  thrown  together  in  most  glorious 
confusion  and  piercing  the  gloom  above  us  for  135 
feet.  Following  the  guide  and  clambering  from  rock 
to  rock,  we  made  the  ascent  by  easy  zigzags  and 
reached  a  point  near  the  summit  with  but  little  fa- 
tigue. The  crest  of  Monument  Mountain,  like  that 
of  Capitol  Hill  in  the  Senate  Chamber  of  the  Old 
Cave,  is  covered  to  a  depth  of  several  feet  with  an 
encrustation  of  stalagmitic  material.  This  is  slowly 
increasing  in  thickness  by  the  accretion  of  solid  par- 
ticles of  limestone  left  by  the  ^evaporation  of  the 
water  which  is  constantly  trickling  in  a  small  stream 
from  the  roof  above.  The  uppermost  ten  or  twelve 
feet  of  the  mountain  is  very  smooth  and  slippery,  and 
one  has  much  difficulty  to  keep  his  footing  while 
climbing  to  the  very  pinnacle,  from  which  projects  a 
brownish-yellow  stalagmite  6.5  feet  in  height  and  3.7 
feet  in  circumference.  'Below  this  a  short  distance, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  mountain  from  the  en- 
trance, is  another  stalagmite,  6.8  feet  in  height  by  5.2 
feet  in  circumference,  while  but  a  short  distance  away 
is  a  third  and  shorter  one.  The  last  two  are  com- 
posed of  spotless  white,  almost  translucent  limestone, 
and  are  known  as  "Lot's  Wife  and  Daughter." 

Crawling  over  the  damp  surface  at  the  foot  of  these 
stalagmites,  as  well  as  on  their  sides,  were  numerous 
specimens  of  cave  myriapods  and  harvestmen.  A 
few  examples  of  a  small,  semi-blind  pseudo-scorpion, 
or  chelifer,  Chtonius  packardii  Hagen,  were  also  ob- 
tained from  the  surface  of  the  damp  rocks  at  this 
place.  It  moves  slowly  along  with  its  front  legs  or 


xnr. 


1.  A  PILLAR  IN  PILLARED  PALACE,  WYANDOTTE  CAVE. 

2.  ROTHROCK'S  CATHEDRAL,  WYANDOITE  CAVE. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES. 


167 


Fig.  35 — Cave  Pseudo-scorpion. 
( After  Hubbard). 
(Enlarged  iyz  times.) 


chelre  held  in  the  air  and,  being  less  than  one-tenth 

of  an  inch  in  length,  is  very  likely  to  be  overlooked 

unless  especial  search  is  made  for  it.     It  has  been 

taken    in    Mammoth    and 

other  Kentucky  caves,  and 

varies  much  in  regard  to  the 

development    of    the    eyes; 

some,    living    without     the 

caves,  having  two  eyes  with 

the  cornea  as  usual ;  others, 

within  the  caves,  having  no 

cornea,    but    retaining    the 

silvery    dot    indicating    the 

retina,  and  still  others  being 

totally  blind. 

Forty  or  more  feet  above  the  crest  of  Monument 
Mountain  expands  "Wallace's  Grand  Dome."  The 
center  piece  of  this  is,  "a  smooth,  elliptical  slab  of 
oolitic  marble,  60  feet  long  by  30  wide,  .finely  con- 
trasting with  the  darker  limestone,  from  which  it  is 
divided  by  a  deep  rim,  fringed  with  long  stalactites, 
curling  like  leaves  of  the  acanthus." 

Leaving  three  candles  burning  a  few  feet  below  the 
summit,  we  descended  the  opposite  side,  and,  extin- 
guishing our  lights,  as  soon  as  the  eye  accustomed 
itself  to  the  surroundings,  beheld  a  scene  as  grand  as 
human  mind  can  fancy — "  an  indescribable  vision,  as 
if  an  opening  had  been  made  into  the  realms  of  super- 
nal splendor."  The  scene  is  known  as  the  "  Cathedral 
by  Moonlight,"  the  faint  candle  light  reflected  from 
the  white,  oval  dome  appearing  like  a  halo  of  moon- 
light over  the  dark  crest  of  the  mountain,  while  the 


168  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

three  stalagmites  stood  like  spectral  visions  surmount- 
ing the  dark  and  rugged  ledges  which  rose  between 
us  and  the  source  of  the  faint  light  above. 

Relighting  our  candles,  we  found  a  few  feet  farther 
on,  the  "Sulphur  Spring,"  the  trickling  waters  being 
caught  in  a  shallow  cavity  of  a  round  stalagmite. 
This  is  one  of  the  dining  places  of  visitors,  and  from 
the  near-by  moldy  remains  of  food  were  taken  numer- 
ous specimens  of  a  small  black  fly,  Phora  mgriccps 
Loew,  as  well  as  several  mites,  and  the  common  cave 
"springtail." 

To  the  left  of  Sulphur  Spring,  in  the  smooth  and 
slippery  stalagmite,  is  an  opening  thirty  inches  wide 
by  fifteen  inches  high.  This  is  the  famous  "Auger 
Hole,"  which,  when  discovered  and  enlarged  in  1850, 
admitted  the  explorers  to  an  extensive  area  of  un- 
known passages  and  rooms — yet  none  so  grand  as 
those  already  noted. 

Through  this  opening  we  made  our  way,  some  head 
first,  others  the  reverse,  all  finally  landing  safely  about 
ten  feet  below  in  a  damp  room  known  as  "Lilliputian 
Hall,"  along  which,  by  stooping,  we  found  our  way 
into  "  Spade's  Grotto,"  once  evidently  connected  with 
Rothrock's  Cathedral  by  a  passage  now  hidden  by 
fallen  rock.  From  thence,  in  divers  manners,  we 
descended  "Slippery  Hill"  and  found  ourselves  in  the 
"Hall  of  Ruins,"  a  passage  150  by  30  feet,  with  an 
average  height  of  perhaps  eighteen  feet.  This  leads 
into  the  "  White  Cloud  Room,"  probably  350  feet  in 
length,  where  the  roof  and  walls  are  encrusted  with 
an  efflorescence  of  gypsum,  resembling,  after  a  fashion 
"billows  of  fleecy  clouds."  Beyond  this  room  we 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VE8.  169 

passed  through  the  "  Journal  Office,"  near  the  farther 
end  of  which  is  the  "Bishop's  Rostrum,"  a  high  plat- 
form of  rock,  8x10  feet  in  dimensions,  from  which  por- 
tions of  many  a  sophomoric  oration,  as  well  as  several 
divine  dissertations,  have,  in  the  past,  heen  delivered. 

"  Calypso's  Island "  is  a  large  mass  of  uneroded 
limestone,  on  both  sides  of  which  the  old  cave  stream 
has  forced  a  passage.  The  floor  of  the  passage  to  the 
left  of  the  "Island"  resounded  our  footsteps  in  a  pecu- 
liar echoing  fashion,  suggesting  the  presence  of  a 
lower  passage  beneath  our  feet.  The  two  wings  of 
the  main  passage  converge  at  'the  farther  end  of 
Calypso's  Island  and  expand  into  the  "  Cserulean 
Vault,"  a  room  40  feet  wide  by  20  feet  high.  This 
narrows  into  "Rugged  Pass,"  from  the  side  of  which 
a  narrow  cleft  in  the  rock  leads  by  an  ascending,  very 
low  and  tortuous  passage,  known  as  "  Worm  Alley," 
into  "Milroy's  Temple." 

This  is  a  room  100  x  150  feet  in  dimensions,  around 
the  upper  edge  of  which  are  found  some  of  the  most 
handsome  formations  in  the  cave.  One  of  them  is  a 
row  of  musical  stalactites,  broad  and  thin,  on  which 
a  melody  can  be  played  by  a  skillful  hand.  There 
are  also  creamy  stalactites,  vermicular  tubes  strangely 
intertwined,  convoluted  roots,  mural  gardens  and 
galleries,  gay  and  grotesque.  A  deep  pit,  the  bottom 
of  which  is  sixty  feet  or  more  below  the  entrance,  is 
found  in  one  side  of  the  room,  and  the  sound  of  a 
stream  of  water  falling  from  a  cleft  in  the  ceiling  and 
splashing  on  the  rocks  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit  was  a 
pleasing  break  to  the  monotonous  silence  of  the  vast 
rooms  through  which  we  had  come. 


170       GLEANINGS  FROM  NA TUBE. 

Once  more  bowing  our  heads  to  the  inevitable,  we 
crawled,  squirmed,  rolled  and  pulled  ourselves  through 
Worm  Alley  back  into  the  main  cave.  Following  our 
guide,  we  passed  on  through  "Josephine's  Arcade," 
where  a  silhouette  of  the  "  Cave  Queen,"  formed  by 
the  falling  away  of  the  wrhite  gypsum  from  the 
darker  limestone,  greets  us  from  the  wall.  "Indiana 
University  Chapel"  and  the  "Ball  Room"  succeeded 
and  brought  us  to  the  "Junction  Room"  of  the  Long 
Route.  Here  the  cave  forks,  one  branch  leading  to 
the  south-west  and  the  other  continuing  northward  to 
"Crawfish  Spring"  and  "  Wabash  Avenue."  Taking 
the  latter,  we  found  it  to  be  made  up  of  a  succession 
of  halls,  galleries  and  avenues,  each  with  its  own  fan- 
ciful name  and  pleasing  peculiarities,  yet  no  place 
worthy  of  more  than  passing  notice  when  taken  in 
contrast  with  the  grand  scenes  already  described. 

In  several  places  between  the  Junction  Room  and 
Crawfish  Spring  the  first  explorers  of  the  Long  Route 
found  tracks  of  a  small  party  of  Indians  who  had 
wandered  to  and  fro  in  that  region.  They  had  evi- 
dently entered  by  some  opening  as  yet  unknown; 
since  the  Auger  Hole,  now  the  only  means  of  entrance, 
was,  when  first  discovered,  entirely  too  small  for  the 
passage  of  a  man.  It  is  better,  in  my  opinion,  to  con- 
sider that  their  means  of  entrance  and  exit  has  since 
been  covered  by  fallen  rock  or,  like  that  through  Fat 
Man's  Misery,  was  hidden  purposely  by  those  ancient 
explorers,  than  to  take  the  ground,  as  has  been  done, 
that  the  tracks  were  made  1,800  or  2,000  years  ago, 
before  the  opening  of  the  Auger  Hole  was  so  nearly 
closed  as  to  prevent  the  passage  of  a  man.  These 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  171 

moccasin  tracks  were  seen  and  noted  by  many  of  the 
early  explorers,  and  low  stone  walls  were  put  around 
them  for  protection,  but  the  tracks  have  since  been 
almost  entirely  obliterated  by  persons  who,  unmindful 
of  the  warnings  of  the  guides,  stepped  over  and  upon 
them. 

Crawfish  Spring  is  formed  from  a  small  stream 
which  flows  through  a  cleft  in  the  rock,  and  from  it  a 
trickling  rill  meanders  on  beneath  the  edges  of  the 
jutting  walls  to  be  soon  lost  to  view  beneath  the  roof 
which  a  few  rods  farther  on  comes  down  to  meet  the 
floor.  Above  the  spring  is  the  passage  known  as 
Wabash  Avenue,  which  extends  for  several  hundred 
yards  in  a  north-westerly  direction  where  it  forks  into 
a  number  of  low  and  muddy  branches. 

Within  the  waters  of  the  rill  were  several  specimens 
of  the  blind  crawfish  and  numerous  examples  of  two 
other  smaller  crustaceans,  already  mentioned.  About 
the  margins  of  the  spring  and  stream  and  on  the  mud 
flats  lying  beyond,  were  secured  a  number  of  the  true 
cave  beetles,  Anophthalmus  tennis  Horn..  Single  speci- 
mens of  this  insect  had  previously 

A     1^1*       I 

Cave  Beetle  been  taken  in  several  of  the  caves 
visited,  and  in  "Wyandotte  it  had  been 
found  about  the  Throne  and  on  top  of  Monument 
Mountain.  It  is  found  only  in  remote  parts  of 
the  caves  in  which  it  occurs,  and  is  always  crawl- 
ing rapidly  over  mud,  sand  or  rocks  in  damp  locali- 
ties. It  is  a  small,  light-brown  species,  with  no  ves- 
tige of  eyes,  and  appears  wholly  unaffected  by  the 
light  of  a  candle  when  the  latter  is  held  within  a  few 
inches  of  it. 


172  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Like  other  Carabids,  these  small  blind  beetles  are 
supposed  to  be  carnivorous.  In  Wyandotte  specimens 
of  mites,  spiders,  spring-tails  and  har- 
vestmen  were  taken  in  the  same  lo- 
cality as  the  beetles,  and  probably 
furnish  the  latter  a  scanty  supply  of 
food. 

Retracing  our  steps  to  the  Junction 
Room,  we  took  the  south-west  passage, 
the  first  room  entered -being  the  "Frost 
King's  Palace,"  eight  feet  high  and 

Fig. 36-Blind  Beetle.  ,  .  ,  ,  .    ® 

(After  Packard.)  twenty  wide,  where  every  object,  great 
(Enlarged  3*  times.)  and  Small,  is  encrusted  with  spark- 
ling crystals  of  gypsum.  To  one  side  is  the  "Bridal 
Chamber,"  and  therein  are  found  some  of  the  finest  of 
the  gypsum  rosettes  for  which  the  cave  is  noted.  Sev- 
eral of  these  are  four  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter, 
the  slender  crystals  forming  them  having  protruded 
from  the  pores  in  the  magnesian  limestone,  and  then, 
uniting  into  fibrous  masses,  have  curved  inward  to 
form  the  oulopholites,  or  curl-leaved  stones,  each  of 
which  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  a  true  rosette. 

The  "Ice  House"  is  a  rough-floored  room  where 
dripping  water  from  the  roof  has  covered  the  surface 
of  the  rocks  with  a  film  or  coating  of  the  thinnest  and 
most  translucent  of  calcite,  resembling  ice.  Leaving 
the  opening  to  the  "Unexplored  Regions"  on  our 
left,  we  descended  from  the  Ice  Room  into  "Morton's 
Marble  Hall,"  1,100  feet  in  length,  the  sides  and  walls 
of  which  "are  completely  dressed  in  snowy  whiteness, 
equaling  the  brightest  marble  halls  of  dreamland, 
song  or  story."  Occasional  nodules  of  jet-like  flint 


TEN  INDIANA  CA  VES.  1 73 

are  seen  exposed  along  the  walls  and  ceiling,  and 
hero  and  there  are  examples  of  the  gypsum  rosettes 
already  mentioned.  Beyond  the  Marble  Hall  is 
"Queen  Mab's  Marble  Garden"  and  the  "Fairy  Pal- 
ace," both  of  which  have  their  walls  covered  with  a 
gypsum  efflorescence  which  has  assumed  the  shapes 
of  flowers,  leaves,  sprigs  and  fanciful  forms  of  many 
kinds.  From  the  end  of  Fairy  Palace,  1,750  feet 
from  the  Ice  House,  diverge  several  low  passages 
which  visitors  seldom  enter,  and  from  here  we  started 
on  our  return  to  the  entrance  of  the  cave. 

The  distance  from  Delta  Island  to  Crawfish  Spring, 
including  Milroy's  Temple,  was  estimated  to  be  about 
one  and  four-tenths  miles,  and  from  the  Junction 
Room  to  the  end  of  Fairy  Palace,  about  one-half 
mile.  The  total  length  of  Wyandotte  Cave  as  tra- 
versed by  the  visitor  who  takes  all  three  routes  is, 
therefore,  about  as  follows  : 

Old  Cave 1.25  miles. 

Short  Route  from  Fat  Man's  Misery  onward 1.06  miles. 

Long  Route  from  Delta  Island  onward :......    1.90  miles. 


Total 4.21  miles. 

These  distances  are  for  one  way  only,  and  if  the 
routes  are  passed  over  on  different  days,  the  distance 
from  the  entrance  to  where  each  begins  must  be  added 
to  that  above  given. 

With  two  of  the  guides  I  passed  through  Roth- 
rock's  Straits  in  November,  1896.  Dropping  our- 
selves through  the  narrow  cleft  in  Odd  Fellows'  Hall, 
we  crawled  down  an  angling  passage  over  a  mass  of 
rough  rocks  and  into  a  low  room  almost  filled  with 


174  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

fallen  rocks.  From  this  we  crawled  still  farther 
down,  climbing  over  great  blocks  of  limestone  and 
making  our  way  beneath  others  partly  loosened  from 

the  roof,  until  finally  we  reached  the 
Straits          very  bottom,  probably  seventy -five  feet 

below  our  starting  point.  Here  we 
found  another  low  room,  with  an  earthen  floor,  which 
had  great  cracks  running  through  it  in  every  direc- 
tion, but  with  no  signs  that  water  had  been  present 
for  centuries.  From  this  a  very  low  passage  makes 
its  way  to  near  the  Coon's  Council  Chamber,  but 
there  is  no  exit  into  that  room.  Retracing  our  way 
we  took  another  route,  and  after  much  creeping, 
wriggling  our  way  through  dust,  bumping  our  heads 
on  the  low  ceiling,  and  with  nothing  in  the  way  of  in- 
terest to  repay  us  for  our  trouble,  we  finally  emerged 
on  the  side  of  the  Hill  of  Difficulty,  and  knew  by 
personal  experience  that  the  Old  Cave  and  the  New 
are  connected,  and  that  the  passage-way  between 
them  is  a  very  rocky  road  to  travel. 

The  entrance  to  the  so-called  "  Unexplored  Regions  " 
of  Wyandotte  opens  from  the  Ice  House,  beyond  the 
Junction  Room  of  the  Long  Route.  These  regions 

have  been  partly  explored  by  guides, 
The  Unex=        ,  ...  ,/  -A-      ^     • 

lored  Regions  visitors  seldom  pass  within  their 

portals.  Washington  Rothrock,  the 
oldest  and  best  known  guide  of  the  cave,  has  been 
through  them  several  times  as  far  as  Rothrock's 
Island.  The  formations  therein  are  said  to  be  won- 
drously  beautiful  and  more  numerous  than  in  many 
of  the  more  thoroughly  explored  regions  of  the  £ave. 
A  large  series  of  specimens  were  obtained  from  some 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  175 

of  these  passages  in  1893  for  the 'World's  Fair.  A 
number  of  the  larger  passages  of  the  Unexplored  Re- 
gions have  not  been  penetrated  as  far  as  man  can  go, 
and  some  future  explorer  may,  perhaps,  find  forma- 
tions more  beautiful  and  scenes  more  grand  than  those 
occurring  in  the  better  known  portions  of  the  cave. 

LITTLE  WYANDOTTE  CAVE. 

The  entrance  to  this  cave  is  situated  at  the  bottom 
of  a  sink-hole  distant  about  300  yards  from  the  front 
of  Wyandotte  Cave  Hotel.  The  floor  of  the  cave  is 
about  20  feet  below  the  bottom  of  the  Nsink,  and  de- 
scent is  made  by  a  ladder  placed  in  a  well-shaped 
opening  about  three  feet  in  diameter. 

In  the  crevices  on  the  sides  of  this  opening  were 
several  cave  salamanders,  and  also  a  number  of  the 
large  hump-backed  cave  crickets,  Ceuthophilus  stygius 
(Scudd.).  This  insect  reaches  a  length  of  one  and  a 
fourth  inches,  and  has  antennae,  or  feelers,  more  than 
four  inches  long.  It  is  not  a  cricket,  but  belongs  to 
the  same  family  as  the  katydid, 
Cricket  though  in  general  appearance  it  differs 
widely  from  that  common  insect.  It 
was  found  in  the  entrance  of  Wyandotte  Cave,  and 
in  several  other  of  the  smaller  caverns  of  the  vicinity, 
but  in  no  instance  farther  back  than  250  feet  from  the 
mouth.  The  adults  seem  to  be  more  or  less  gregarious, 
and,  in  one  instance,  more  than  20  were  found  in  a 
small  cranny  in  the  wall.  They  were  grouped  in  a 
circle,  in  a  space  about  six  inches  square,  with  their 
long  antennae  pointing  toward  the  center  of  the  circle, 


176 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


and  appeared  to  be  holding  a  conference  or  cricket 
convention. 

They  were  never  seen  xon  the  floors  of  the  caves 
unless  they  leaped  there  when  disturbed,  but  were 
found  resting  on  the  sides  of  small  projections  and  in 
cavities  of  the  walls  or  roof.  If  a  lighted  candle  were 
held  close  to  them  they  paid  no  attention  to  it,  but 
were  very  sensitive  to  its  heat  and  to  touch.  When 
disturbed  they  leap  with  agility,  sometimes  to  a  dis- 
tance of  six  feet,  but  with  a  little  care 
can  usually  be  readily  picked  up  with  the 
fingers  before  they  become  frightened. 
Being  wingless  they  make  no  noise,  and 

other 


AAFOF  LITTLE  Wmwm  Cm. 

Crawford  County.  Ind, 


silent  creatures, 
are  supposed  to 
be  deaf,  as  no  trace 
of  an  ear-drum  is 
visible. 

At  the  bottom 
of  the  opening  in- 
to Little  Wyan- 
dotte  one  finds 
himself  in  an  entry 
which  leads  both 
to  the  right  and 
the  left.  The  right 
hand  passage  can  be  followed  only  about  seventy-five 
feet,  when  it  becomes  too  small  for  farther  progress.  It 
contains  no  features  of  interest  except  a  few  stalactites. 
The  left  hand  passage  was  found  by  actual  meas- 
urement to  be  340  feet  in  length.  Passing  "  Pompey's 


1  and  2,  Pits.       3,  Gallery. 


Fig.  37. 


TEN  INDIANA  CAVES.  Ill 

Pillar,"  a  large  stalagmite,  the  first  room  entered  was 
"Cleopatra's  Palace,"  where  there  are  hundreds  of 
fine  stalactites,  which  show  grandly  in  the  glare  of  the 
magnesium  light. 

Beyond  this  room  two  pits,  said  to  be  60  feet  in 
depth,  shut  off  the  farther  side  of  the  cave.  A  narrow 
partition  of  slippery  stone  separates  the  two  and  serves 
as  a  bridge  to  cross  the  chasm.  On  leaving  this  natural 
bridge,  we  made  our  way  along  the  side  of  a  steep 
ledge  that  skirts  the  left  hand  pit,  and  then  passed 
around  a  gigantic  fallen  stalactite,  which  has  been 
kept  from  rolling  into  the  pit  only  by  a  friendly  sta- 
lagmite against  which  it  rests.  Climbing  a  steep  slope 
in  which  notches  have  been  cut  to  serve  as  footholds, 
we  entered  a  gallery,  one  side  of  the  expanding  mouth 
of  which  serves  as  a  balcony  above  and  partially 
around  the  deepest  pit.  On  and  above  this  balcony 
is  a  collection  of  cave  formations  of  exceeding  beauty 
and  grandeur.  A  stately,  fluted  pillar,  with  its  base 
expanding  in  broad-leaved  masses  of  dripstone,  thus 
forming  a  heavy  folded  curtain  along  the  edge  of  the 
pit,  is  the  giant  of  the  group ;  while  most  unique  of 
all  is  the  "Corinthian  Column,"  ten  feet  high  and  less 
than  three  inches  in  diameter — a  slender  shaft  of 
translucent,  snow-white  satin-spar  reaching  from  floor 
to  ceiling.  A  number  of  fragile  tubular  sterns  were 
clustered  about  the  head  of  this  pillar,  each  with  a 
terminal  drop  of  water,  which  glistened  like  a  well 
cut  diamond  in  the  light  of  our  candles.  Entering 
the  gallery  we  wandered  on,  "beneath  a  ceiling  fretted 
with  glistening  pendants,  amid  pillars  and  pilasters, 
flying  buttresses  and  interlacing  arches,  with  here  a 
12 


178  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

cascade  in  mid-air  transmuted  into  stone,  and  there  a 
sculptured  cell  amid  clustered  columns."  The  cave 
finally  ends  in  "  Peri's  Prison,"  where  a  narrow  side 
gallery  is  separated  from  the  main  passage  by  a  row 
of  slender  pillars,  each  but  a  few  inches  from  its 
neighbor.  All  in  all,  Little  Wyandotte  is  well  worthy 
of  visitation,  and  he  who  wishes  to  see  the  beautiful 
and  at  the  same  time  experience  a  sense  of  the  perils 
attending  cave  exploration,  should  enter  its  bounds, 
cross  the  narrow  bridge  between  the  yawning  chasms, 
and  climb  the  slippery  hill  to  the  lovely  gallery  be- 
yond. 

*** 

.  Other  caves  there  are  in  southern  Indiana  which  we 
would  gladly  have  explored  and  described  had  our 
time  permitted.  No  two  in  the  State  are  alike.  Each 
is  noted  for  some  peculiar  formation,  room  or  passage 
which  it  possesses.  In  each  and  all  can  one  see  the 
results  of  the  action  of  water — that  greatest  of  nature's 
solvents  and  abraders,  soft  to  the  touch,  gentle  to  look 
upon,  its  work  of  a  day,  a  year,  a  century  upon  the 
solid  limestone  not  appreciable  to  the  eye — yet  by 
slow,  unceasing  action  through  the  eons  which  have 
elapsed  since  that  work  began,  it  has  carved  every 
room  and  passage,  constructed  every  pillar  and  sta- 
lagmite existing  beneath  the  surface  of  southern 
Indiana. 


A  DAY  IN  A  TAMARACK  SWAMP. 


A  half-day  rather,  for  the  other  half  was  occupied 
in  reaching  the  swamp,  and  half  of  the  night  in 
returning  therefrom,  so  that  part  of  the  story  must  be 
of  some  of  nature's  objects  noted  on  the  way  and  the 
thoughts  that  they  engendered. 

The  6 : 20  train  on  the  "Logan"  road  was  almost 
ready  to  pull  out  on  a  recent  Saturday,  when,  after  a 
brisk  walk  of  half  a  mile  through  the  cool  enlivening 
air  of  early  morn,  I  reached  the  Union  Station.  The 
platform  was  thronged  with  prospective  passengers, 
bound  for  the  four  corners  of  the  globe  and  starting 
with  the  coming  of  the  sun.  All  was  bustle  and  noise 
but  we  were  soon  off  to  the  quiet  prairie  region  north- 
east of  Terre  Haute. 

No  frost  as  yet  had  seared  the  vegetation  and  the 
late  planted  corn  was  ripening  rapidly;  its  partially 
green,  partially  yellow  leaves  glistening  with  the  dew 
of  the  night.  The  many  wild  plants  growing  along 
the  railway  are  to  me,  when  traveling,  objects  of 
exceeding  interest,  but  on  this  day  but  few  were  at 
first  seen,  the  ruthless  hand  of  the  section  boss  having 
caused  their  early  downfall.  Occasionally  a  sunflower 
or  stalk  of  golden-rod,  which  in  some  unknown  way 
had  escaped  destruction,  waved  its  flowers  in  defiance 
as  we  were  whirled  past;  or  the  bright  blue  of  the 
wild  morning-glory  and  brighter  blue  of  the  lobelia 

(179) 


180  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

seemed  trying  to  excel  the  hue  of  the  sky  above 
them. 

Just  over  the  boundary  fence,  however,  beyond  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  devastating  wayside  mower,  grew 
in  many  places  wild  asters  in  profusion.  Our  native 
asters  are  distinctively  flowers  of  autumn.  They  do 
not  begin  blooming  until  mid-September,  and,  as  late 
as  December  1st,  can  often  be  found  in  some  protected 
nook,  the  last  wild  flowers  of  the  dying  year.  The 
wild  asters  vary  in  color  from  a  pure  white  to  a  deep 
blue.  One  or  two  possess  a  pinkish  tinge  but  none 
are  red  or  yellow.  Our  sunflowers  and  golden-rods 
furnish  sufficient  of  the  latter  color;  while  the  scarlet 
leaves  of  the  maple, black-gum  and  dogwood,  together 
with  many  of  our  wild  fruits,,  paint  amply  red  the 
autumn  landscape. 

The  asters,  sunflowers  and  golden-rods  comprise 
nearly  one-half  of  the  Indiana  members  of  the  great 
Composite  family — in  number  of  species  the  giant 
family  of  the  flowering  plants.  In  the  arts  the  use  of 
these  plants  is  unknown.  But  the  lover  of  nature, 
whose  eye  is  ever  on  the  search  for  the  pleasing  and 
the  beautiful,  blesses  their  existence;  for,  their  hues 
absent,  our  autumn  scenery  would  lose  much  of  the 
charm  due  to  its  variety  of  color. 

Beyond  the  prairie  came  the  uplands  of  Parke  and 
Montgomery  counties  where  the  Kentucky  blue-grass 
and  the  sugar-maple,  two  of  the  most  attractive  and 
valuable  wild  plants  known  to  man,  reach  the  acme 
of  their  perfection.  The  limestone  soil  of  this  "blue- 
grass  region  of  Indiana"  furnishes  exactly  the  food 
needed  to  make  the  sugar-maple,  Acer  saccharum 


A  DAY  IN  A  TAMARACK  SWAMP.  181 

Marsh,  a  perfect  tree.  Great  groves  of  them,  each 
tree  so  isolated  from  its  fellows  as  not  to  shade  too 
densely  the  grass  beneath;  each  with  its  branches 
stopping  short  at  a  uniform  height,  ten  to  twelve  feet 
from  the  ground,  form  vast  forest  sheds  which  all 
summer  long  furnish  plentiful  shade  to  those  herds 
of  fat  cattle  which  are  the  pride  and  wealth  of  the 
owners  of  the  land. 

Farther  north  the  "  Logan"  runs  through  a  flat,  up- 
land country  where  the  bitter-nut  or  swamp  hickory, 
the  beech  with  its  smooth  lichen -covered  bole,  and 
immense  numbers  of  gigantic  bur-oaks,  abound.  At 
intervals  clumps  of  that  handsome  shrub,  the  black 
alder  or  winter-berry  were  seen,  its  bright-red  fruit 
giving  an  exceeding  vividness  to  the  dense  green  of 
the  surrounding  forest,  which  was  as  yet  untouched 
by  that  prince  of  painters,  Jack  Frost. 

Then  the  prairie  with  its  characteristic  flora  once 
more  appeared ;  and  finally,  the  tamarack  swamps 
about  Kewanna,  Fulton  County,  came  into  view  and 
my  journey- by  rail  was  at  an  end. 

The  tamarack  or  black  .larch,  Larix  americana 
Michx.,  is  a  tree,  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  high,  with 
a  straight  trunk  and  slender  horizontal  branches.  It 
belongs  to  the  great  Pine  family  or  Coniferce,  so  called 
because  the  seeds  of  its  members  are  borne  without 
other  covering  than  the  large  flat 
T  ck  Tr  scales  which  overlap  one  another  to 
form  that  familiar  object  called  a 
cone.  The  large  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
family,  as  the  pines,  cedars,  etc.,  are  evergreens ;  but 
the  leaves  of  the  tamarack,  which  are  thread-like,  one 


182  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

or  two  inches  in  length,  and  arranged  along  the 
branches  in  small  bunches,  wither  and  fall  each  au- 
tumn. The  cones  of  the  tamarack  are  about  one- 
half  inch  long,  ovoid  or  egg-shaped,  and  purple  or 
brownish  when  they  ripen.  The  wood  is  hard, 
strong,  and  very  durable,  and  is  used  for  sjiip  build- 
ing, fence  posts,  telegraph  poles  and  railway  ties.  Tho 
slender  roots  are  composed  of  tough  fibres  of  great 
length.  The  Canadians  and  Indians  were  accustomed 
to  use  these  fibres  for  sewing  their  bark  canoes,  hence 
Hiawatha  is  said  to  have  made  the  following  request : 

"Give  me  of  your  roots,  O  Tamarack! 

Of  your  fibrous  roots,  O  Larch-Tree  ! 
My  canoe  to  bind  together, 

So  to  bind  the  ends  together, 
That  the  water  in  ay  not  enter, 

That  the  river  may  not  wet  me." 

The  tamarack  is  a  lover  of  cooler  climes  than  is 
furnished  by  our  latitude,  and  hence  flourishes  in 
greatest  abundance  in  the  far  north,  its  southern 
range  in  this  State  being  on  a  line  drawn  east  and 
west  through  Ft.  Wayne  and  Kewanna.  Like  its 
cousin,  the  bald  cypress,  its  chosen  home  is  low, 
swampy  land  where  it  often  thickly  covers  Jarge  areas 
and  furnishes  that  dense  shade  so  characteristic  of 
any  member  of  the  pine  family  where  growing  closely 
together  in  great  numbers. 

After  entering  a  few  yards  within  the  swamp  a 
sense  of  solitude  and  loneliness,  such  as  I  have  never 
felt,  even  in  the  most  dense  of  our  ordinary  forests, 
began  to  oppress  me — a  sense  which  increased  with 
every  onward  step  and  did  not  wholly  disappear  until 


A  DAY  IN  A  TAMARACK  SWAMP.  183 

I  had  come  forth  again  into  the  full  light  of  the  sun 
and  had  left  far  behind  me  the  swamp  with  all  its 
characteristic  surroundings.  Much  of  this  feeling 
was  doubtless  due  to  a  lack  of  those  animal  sounds 
usually  present  in  a  forest.  This  lack  may  not  be  so 
noticeable  at  other  seasons  of  the  year,  but  on  this 
September  day  it  was  especially  striking.  I  listened 
in  vain  for  the  chirp  of  bird  or  the  hum  of  insect. 
The  silence  was  broken  only  at  long  intervals  by 
the  trill  of  a  striped  tree  frog,  or  the  low  soughing  of 
the  wind  in  a  weird  and  mournful  cadence  through 
the  thick  branches  of  the  trees  about  me.  The  lower 
limbs  of  the  tamaracks,  which  hung  downwards  as 
if  weeping,  were,  for  the  most  part,  lifeless  and  cov- 
ered with  gray  lichens.  Many  of  these  lichens  grow 
in  long  and  slender  tufts  like  the  "Spanish  moss"  of 
the  Southern  States ;  this  sombre  drapery  but  adding 
a  deeper  tinge  of  desolation  to  the  scene. 

But,  however  lonely  such  a  swamp  may  appear  to 
one  who  traverses  it,  to  the  botanist  it  is  ever  a  place 
of  interest  on  account  of*  the  many  rare  plants  which 
lurk  within  its  bounds.  'No  grass  or  sedge  can  exist 
in  the  profound  shade  of  the  trees,  but  three  or  four 
kinds  of  sphagnum  mosses  grow  everywhere  in  deep, 
dense  masses  which  gave  way  like  windrows  of  new 
mown  hay  beneath  my  tread.  When  dry  these'  beds 
of  moss  furnish  delightful  cushions,  on  which  when 
tired,  one  can  throw  himself  down  and  rest  at  ease.  I 
dug  deep  into  one  of  them  but  could  find  nothing  but 
layers  of  moss,  the  older  stems  slowly  decaying,  the 
younger  finding  a  foothold  and  sustenance  among  the 
ruins  of  the  old. 


184 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


Scattered  through  and  over  these  mossy  beds  were 
many  trailing  stems  of  a  slender  shrub,  bearing  ob- 
long, evergreen  leaves  about  one-third  of  an  inch  in 
length.  Very  handsome  these  shrubs  were,  and 
interesting  too,  for  on  them  grows  that  delicious  and 

familiar  fruit,  the  Ameri- 
can Cranberry,  Vaccimum 
macrocarpon  Ait.  The  ber- 
ries had  been  carefully 
gleaned  from  the  swamp, 
but  here  and  there  the 
bright  cheek  of  one  glist- 
ened from  its  bed  of  green, 
furnishing  a  natural  con- 
trast of  color  which  would 
entrance  an  artist's  eye. 
At  intervals  of  a  few 
feet  among  the 
thickest  of  the 
tamaracks  were 
clumps  of  that 
curious  carniv- 
orous growth,  the 
side-saddle  flow- 
er or  p  i  t  c  h  e  r- 
plant,  Sarracema 
purpurea~L.  The 
margin  of  its 
thick  root  leaves 
are  united  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  hollow  tubes 
or  "pitchers"  with  a  rounded  lid  or  lip  at  the  top. 
On  the  inner  surface  of  this  lip  are  numerous  stiff 


Fig.  38— Common  Pitcher  Plant. 


(One  leaf  cut  across  to  show  the  cavity, 
natural  size.) 


(After  Bessey.) 
One-third 


A  DAY  IN  A  TAMARACK  SWAMP.  185 

hairs  pointing  downwards.  A  watery  fluid  is  secreted 
by  the  leaves,  and  collecting  in  the  pitchers,  attracts 
many  insects.  These  are  soon  drowned,  being  una- 
ble to  escape  from  the  fatal  pitchers  on  account  of 
the  deflexed  hairs,  and  their  bodies,  decomposing, 
yield  a  plentiful  supply  of  nitrogen  for  the  crafty 
plant. 

In  May  and  June  the  strikingly  handsome  flower 
of  the  pitcher  plant,  deep  purple  in  color  and  two 
inches  or  more  in  diameter,  may  be  seen  by  the  vis- 
itor to  these  swamps.  It  is  borne  on  the  summit  of  a 
leafless  flower  stalk  or  scape  which  springs  from  the 
midst  of  the  clump  of  pitcher-shaped  leaves. 

In  one  part  of  the  swamp  grew  in  abundance  wild 
huckleberries,  own  cousin  to  the  cranberries,  and  in 
their  season,  in  high  favor  for  pies  and  cobblers ;  yet 
for  a  sauce,  a  failure,  on  account  of  a  lack  of  sufficient 
juice  and  acidity.  Orchids,  too,  were  there,  noted  for 
their  curiously  formed  flowers,  which,  like  those  of 
the  milk-weed,  can  only  be  fertilized  by  the  aid  of 
insects.  Though  past  their  blooming  season,  three 
or  four  species  were  noted,  among  them  the  yellow 
lady's  slipper,  once  common  throughout  the  State  but 
now  almost  extinct  on  account  of  the  ruthless,  devas- 
tating hand  of  man. 

Two  slender  shrubs,  each  four  to  six  feet  high,  grew 
in  such  open  places  as  occurred.  One,  the  choke-berry, 
Pyrus  arbutifolia  L.,  is  a  close  relation  to  the  apple, 
but  bears  its  fruit  in  clusters  like  those  of  the  black 
haw  of  our  woods.  The  fruit  is  in  shape  like  a  min- 
iature apple,  dark  red  or  blackish  in  hue,  and  edible, 
but  with  a  puckering  taste  like  that  of  a  green  per- 


186  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE, 

simmon.  The  other  is  the  dwarf  birch,  Betula  pumila 
L.,  a  northern  plant  which,  like  the  tamarack,  reaches 
in  this  swamp  its  southern  limit  in  our  State. 

One  other  plant  which  I  fain  would  omit  from  the 
list  of  those  noted  must  now  be  mentioned.  All  those 
preceding  are  either  useful  or  harmless  in  their  ways, 
but  this  one  is  the  most  poisonous  species  known  to 
the  flora  of  Indiana.  It  is  the  poison  sumach  or  swamp 
elder,  own  brother  to  our  common  ivy  but  much  more 

venomous  as  its  scientific  name,  Rhus 
Sumach         venenata  DC.,  denotes.     It  is  a  shrub 

growing  to  the  height  of  twelve  or 
more  feet.  Its  large  compound  leaves  are  often 
two  feet  in  length  and  composed  of  nine  to  thirteen 
slender  leaflets;  while  from  their  axils  the  white, 
grape-like^  fruit  hangs  in  loose  bunches.  It  grows 
only  in  the  northern  swamps  and  its  juice,  or  even  the 
exhalation  from  its  leaves,  causes  small  white  blisters 
to  appear  anywhere  011  the  surface  of  the  exposed 
skin.  In  this  swamp  it  was  abundant,  growing  in 
every  open  space,  and  although  I  tried  to  avoid  it  as 
much  as  possible  yet  the  blistered,  itching  skin  which 
I  endured  for  days  after  my  return  proved  to  me  too 
well  its  poisoning  powers. 

The  scarcity  of  animal  life  within  the  swamp  has 
already  been  mentioned.  It  is  said  to  be  a  famous 
place  for  owls,  and  is  in  every  way  well  fitted  for 
those  ominous  birds  of  prey  which  delight  in  all  that 
is  dark  and  dismal.  In  the  words  of  Thoreau : 
"Their  'hoo-hoo-hoo,  hooer-hoo',  is  a  sound  admirably 
suited  to  swamps  and  twilight  woods  which  no  day 
illustrates,  suggesting  a  vast  undeveloped  nature  which 


A  DAY  IN  A  TAMARACK  SWAMP.  187 

men  have  not  recognized.  They  represent  the  stark 
twilight  and  unsatisfied  thoughts  which  all  have."  I 
saw  no  owls,  but  the  harsh  cawTs  of  a  distant  flock  of 
crows  which  at  times  were  wafted  to  my  ear  told 
where  one  was  treed  and  pestered ;  for  the  crow  hates 
an  owl  as  badly  as  a  terrier  hates  that  other  "  bird  of 
night,"  the  prowling  cat. 

The  mottled  grasshopper,  Meldnoplus  punctulatus 
(Uhler),  frequents  the  depths  of  the  swamp  in  small 
numbers,  resting  either  upon  the  trunks  of  the  tama- 
rack trees  or  the  clumps  of  sphagnum  mosses  at  their 
base.  It  is  not  active  in  its  movements,  usually,  after 
one  or  two  short  leaps,  squatting  close  to  the  earth 
and,  seemingly,  depending  upon  the  close  similarity 
of  its  hues  to  the  grayish  lichens  about  it  to  avoid 
detection. 

In  one  of  the  drier  parts  of  the  swamp  a  prairie 
rattle-snake  gave  its  shrill  warning  almost  beneath 
my  feet,  and  mosquitoes  of  the  large  striped  variety, 
regular  "gallinippers,"  as  the  boys  call  them,  occa- 
sionally had  a  tendency  to  taste  my  flesh ;  but  these 
were  only  minor  drawbacks  which  every  wooer  of 
nature  must  at  times  endure,  if  he  would  see  her  odd 
corners  as  well  as  her  more  commonplace  ones. 


I  wrote  the  gist  of  the  above  while  sitting  deeply 
in  a  bed  of  sphagnum  moss,  so  deep  indeed  that  I 
could  scarcely  move  my  arm  while  writing.  And  0, 
how  tired  I  was !  For  140  miles  of  railway  travel  and 
a  five  hours'  tramp  over  bog  and  tussock  will  tire  the 
average  human. 


188  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

How  I  longed  to  lean  backwards  and  sleep !  But 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  slanting  and  struggling  beneath 
the  lower  branches  of  the  tamaracks,  warned  me  that 
my  train  would  soon  be  due,  and  that  if  I  wished  to 
sleep  at  home,  safe,  except  in  dreams,  from  the  attack 
of  rattle-snake  and  mosquito,  I  must  be  up  and  away 
for  the  mile's  trudge  to  the  station.  And  so  my  day 
in  a  tamarack  swamp  became  to  me  a  thing  of  the  past. 


MID-AUTUMN  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL. 


Old  Mother  Earth  once  more  had  made  the  circuit 
of  the  sun  and  October,  the  fairest  month  of  all  the 
year,  had  come  again  and  brought  with  it  one  of  its 
perfect  days.  The  chilling  winds  and  hoar  frosts  of 
the  week  before  had  warned  the  Red  Man  in  the  far 
west  of  the  approach  of  winter  and,  for  the  first  time 
this  season,  he  had  kindled  his  signal  fires,  and  from 
them  the  smoke, 

11  Soft  and  illusive  as  a  fairy's  dream, 
Lapped  all  the  landscape  in  a  silvery  fold." 

On  such  a  day  the  gypsy  in  my  blood — that  desire 
to  roam  and  wander  which  I  inherit  from  the  barba- 
rians of  old — asserts  full  strong  its  presence.  The 
city  with  its  crowds  and  turmoil,  its  noisome  smells 
and  impure  atmosphere,  becomes  for  a  time  unbear- 
able. Only  a  tramp  through  field  and  forest  and  a 
communion  with  some  of  the  many  spirits  of  the 
woods  will  serve  to  curb  this  gypsy  element  and  give 
me  peace  of  mind  once  more.  And  so  on  this,  the 
sixteenth  day  of  the  month,  and  hence  the  very  mid- 
dle of  the  autumn,  I  started  northward,  I  knew  not 
whither;  I  cared  not  whither;  but  the  old  canal 
proved  a  cynosure  and  the  spirits  with  which  I  com- 
muned are  in  part  noted  below. 

Birds,  birds,  always  to  be  seen  as  soon  as  the  city 
limits  are  reached,  always  interesting  always  full  of 

(189) 


190  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

life  and  sprightliness.  A  bluebird  first.  Then  a 
flock  of  juncoes  or  snowbirds,  fresh  from  their  sum- 
mer home  in  the  far  north,  perhaps  tarrying  for  food 
before  they  go  farther  south,  perhaps  come  to  stay 
with  us,  to  cheer  us  up  with  their  chirp  and  twitter 
when  King  Boreas  with  his  attendant  train  of  ice  and 
snow,  of  bare  trees  and  almost  voiceless  nature,  will 
rule  over  us.  Then  the  familiar  song  sparrow  dodg- 
ing from  fence  crack,  to  brush  pile  and  back  again, 
his  streaked  breast  ever  a  sign  of  his  identity.  Then 
a  company  of  grass  finches  showing  the  pure  white  of 
their  tail  feathers  only  as  they  fly ;  preparing  for  their 
southward  journey  by  thus  flocking  together  from 
their  various  nesting  places.  Then  a  sound — "ha-ha — 
ha-ha" — and  a  trio  of  crows,  uttering  their  weird 
laugh,  went  sailing  southward,  seeking,  no  doubt, 
their  morning  meal  on  the  commons  near  the  city. 
Next,  a  bevy  of  meadow  larks  were  flushed,  and  flying 
across  the  road  they  glided,  as  it  were,  down  an  in- 
clined plane  until  they  reached  the  ground,  much  as  a 
flying-squirrel  travels  from  tree  top  to  the  earth  below. 
By  this  time  I  had  reached  the  canal  and  within 
the  confines  of  its  banks,  where  the  killing  effects  of 
the  recent  frosts  were  not  so  visible,  birds  were  plenti- 
ful. A  pair  of  white-bellied  nuthatches  ran  industri- 
ously to  and  fro  on  the  branches  of  an  elm  beneath 
which  I  rested.  They  peered  into  every  cranny  and 
looked  beneath  every  piece  of  loose  bark  in  their  care- 
ful search  for  the  luckless  insects  which  were  destined 
to  serve  them  for  dinner.  At  short  intervals  they 
talked  to  one  another  in  two  brief  words,  "kah— 
kah;"  when  frightened,  repeating  them  very  rapidly, 


MID-AUTUMN  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL.       191 

"kah-kah — kah-kah"  At  times,  also,  a  kind  of  low. 
chuckle  or  "pit "  like  sound  was  heard  as  though  the 
bird  had  suddenly  thought  of  something  pleasing  and 
was  laughing  to  itself. 

The  "  per-a-ftody,  pe-a-body,  a-body,  a-body"  long 
drawn  out,  of  the  white  throated  sparrow,  mingled 
with  the  much  louder  and  harsher  "che-wink"  of  the 


Fig.  39-Meadow  Lark.    (After  Beal.) 

marsh  robin  or  tow-hee  came  from  the  many  brush 
piles  along  the  sides  of  the  canal ;  while  the  rapid 
"rat-tat-tap"  of  a  downy  woodpecker  upon  a  dead 
snag  furnished  the  bass  for  this  medley  of  bird  sounds. 
Do  the  members  of  the  different  families  of  birds 
understand  and  converse  with  one  another  ?  It  would 
seem  so,  for  whenever  a  cry  of  distress  comes  from  a 
wounded  or  frightened  bird,  species  of  widely  different 


192  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATUHE. 

families  flock  about  and,  with  varied  notes  of  alarm, 
evince  an  interest  in  and  a  sympathy  for  the  woes  of 
their  unfortunate  companion  of  the  woods. 
From  mid-August  to  October 

The  ceaseless  hum  of  insect  life  goes  ever  on, 
No  pause  for  night  or  morn  or  noon-day  sun. 

After  the  first  frosts,  however,  these  insect  sounds 
grow  gradually  less  until  November,  when  they  almost 
wholly  disappear.  On  this  day  the  chirp  of  a  wayside 
cricket,  the  crackling  note  of  'a  clouded  grasshopper, 
made  by  the  male  while  on  the  wing,  the  drawling 
call  of  a  harvest  -fly  which  had  long  out-lived  its  day, 
and  the  feeble  shrill  of  two  or  three  small  species  of 
katydids  were  the  only  insect  notes  which  were  heard. 

Even  they  were  only 
occasional  weak  wails 
—  woe  begotten  sounds 
of  frost-bitten  individ- 
uals —  and  not  the  loud 
shrill  notes  of  the 

Fig.  40-A  small  Katydid.    (After  Lugger.)    Same  Species    of  a  fort- 
Scudderia  furcata  Brunner. 


demanded  tribute  in  the  form  of  ceaseless  song  and 
all  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell. 

Where  a  barbed-wire  fence  stretched  across  the  bed 
of  the  canal  a  novel  sight  came  into  view.     Hundreds, 
yes   thousands,   of  strands   of  spider 


erS 


oi        s  *        webs  were  floating  from  the  sides  of 
Balloonist*. 

the  posts  and  wires.     Ihe  wind  was 

from  the  south  and  they  were  blown  northward,  the 
free  ends  floating  horizontally  and  parallel  in  the  air. 


MID-AUTUMN  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL.       193 

A  close  examination  revealed  the  presence  of  a  great 
many  spiders  of  minute  size  on  the  surface  of  the  posts 
and  wires.  Their  ahdomens  were  slightly  raised  and 
from  the  spinnerets  of  each  were  issuing  threads  of 
web  material  which  soon  hardened  when  exposed  to 
air.  These,  in  time,  formed  a  strand  sufficiently  long 
to  support  the  weight  of  the  little  spinners.  Then,  if. 
the  strand  did  not  become  entangled  with  some  others, 
the  spiclerkin,  letting  go  its  hold  upon  the  fence,  took 
a  ride  to  the  northward  with  the  wind  as  a  motor. 
Wonderful  balloonists  they — whose  ancestors  per- 
formed like  feats  of  aerial  navigation  ages  before  the 
days  of  the  first  human  aeronaut! 

Xumerous  wild  fruits  and  nuts,  both  edible  and 
unedible,  are  in  autumn  found  along  the  banks  of  the 
canal.  T4ie  former  satisfy  the  sense  of  taste  and  are 
usually  dull  in  color  but  interesting  in  structure  and 
habit.  Among  them  are  two  species  of  wild  grapes, 
one,  the  frost  or  chicken  grape,  Vitis  cordifolia  Michx., 
with  small  black  and  shining  berries  which  are  very 
sour;  the  other,  the  summer  or  fox  grape,  V.  wstivalis 
Michx.,  having  the  berries  larger,  with  a  sweet  and 
pleasant  flavor  and  with  their  black  skins  covered 
with  a  whitish  bloom.  The  chief  charm  of  the  wild 
grape  lies,  however,  in  the  spreading,  straggling  habits 
of  the  vine  which  covers  many  thorn  and  other  homely 
bushes,  and  forms  in  the  angles  of  the  old  Virginia 
rail  fences  those  dense,  leafy  coverts  which  in  summer 
delight  the  brown  thrush  and  make  glad  the  heart  of 
the  handsome  chewink. 

The  hazelnut,  Corylus  americana  Walt.,  also  flour- 
ishes in  this  sandy  soil  and  on  this  day  many  clumps 
13 


194  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  them  were  noted.  Their  oval  leaves  painted  a 
dainty  brown  by  the  frost,  were  withering  and  drop- 
ping, thus  disclosing  more  plainly  the  bunches  of 
brown  nuts  each  clad  in  its  protective  armor  of  invo- 
lucre. An  interesting  fact  about  the  hazelnut  is  that 
its  catkins,  earnest  of  next  season's  flowers,  are  formed 
in  late  summer  and  pass  the  winter  in  patient  waiting, 
ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  first  warm  days  of 
spring  to  open  their  cups  of  pollen  and  fertilize  the 
flowers  for  the  future  crop  of  nuts. 

Our  unedible  wild  fruits  usually  cater  to  the  sense 
of  sight,  being  bright  in  color  or  peculiar  in  structure. 
Among  them  all,  that  of  the  wahoo  or  burning  bush 
seems  to  me  most  beautiful.  Hanging  on  slender 
pedicels,  four  or  more  in  a  cluster  from  the  same 
peduncle,  its  deep  scarlet  color  and  odd  shape  render 
it  a  most  striking  object.  Add  to  this  the  orange 
aril  of  its  seeds,  peeping  so  daintily  through  the  half 
open  suture  of  the  pod  after  the  latter  has  been 
touched  by  one  or  two  keen  frosts,  and  we  have  a 
combination  and  a  contrast  most  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

Of  the  fifty  or  more  species  of  birds  which  pass  the 

cold  season  in  Indiana,  the  little  winter  Avren,  in  his 

russet   coat,   is    the   smallest    and,  in 

Winte^Wren  habits'  one  of  tlie  most  Peculiar. 
Wherever  you  see  him,  be  it  on  the 
ground,  in  a  fence  corner,  or  in  a  pile  of  brush  or 
rails,  he  is  continually  on  the  go,  flitting  hither  and 
thither,  in  and  out  of  the  cracks  of  the  fence  and  from 
top  to  bottom  of  the  brush  pile ;  so  that  if  you  are  a 
collector  and  want  his  skin  you  have  to  take  him  on  the 
wing  or  not  at  all.  It  was,  therefore,  with  a  feeling  of 


MID- AUTUMN  ALONG  THE  OLD  CANAL.   195 

delight  that  I  heard,  as  I  strolled  along  on  this  bright 
October  day,  his  merry  "che-che — che-che-che"  and  saw 
him  as  he  ran  up  and  down  the  side  of  a  stump  in 
search  of  insects.  He  saw  me  also  and  seemed  to 
know  that  it  was  Sunday,  and,  therefore,  he  need 
have  no  fear;  for,  instead  of  flitting  away  as  is  his 
usual  custom,  he  came  nearer  and  nearer,  seeking,  as 
it  were,  to  gain  my  friendship,  until  at  last  I  could 
have  touched  him  with  my  hand  and  even  did  reach 
it  forth,  thinking  that,  like  Thoreau's  sparrow,  he  might 
light  thereon.  But  some  spirit  must  have  whispered 
to  him  of  his  three  dead  kinsmen  whose  skins  form 
part  of  my  collection  ;  for  no  sooner  did  I  stretch 
forth  my  hand  than  he  was  up  and  away  like  a  flash. 
Ah,  my  little  feathered  friend,  thou  needst  not  thus 
so  suddenly  have  left  my  presence,  for  I  had  no 
thoughts  of  murder  in  my  heart,  but  simply  wished 
to  bid  thee  welcome  to  thy  winter's  home! 

I  rested  for  a  time  beneath  a  tall  white  oak  and 
watched  the  falling  leaves  as,  obedient  to  the  great 
force  of  gravitation,  they  drifted  slowly  towards  the 
center  of  the  earth.  Who  can  tell  when  a  leaf  breaks 
its  hold  upon  the  parent  tree  where  its  resting  phice 
will  be?  It  comes  fluttering  down  on  account  of  the 

broad  expanse  which   its  light  weight 
A  Falling  Leaf. 

presents  to  the  resistance  or  the  atmos- 
phere. It  is  borne,  now  in  this  direction,  now  in 
that,  by  the  eddying  gusts  until  at  last  it  rests  upon 
a  pile  of  a  hundred  others,  perhaps  fifty,  perhaps 
five  hundred  feet  from  a  perpendicular  from  where 
it  started.  By  the  action  of  water  and  oxygen,  it 
and  its  companions  are  soon  changed  into  inorganic 


196  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

substances  and  become  a  part  of  the  earth's  mold. 
Possibly  they  have  been  a  part  of  it  hundreds,  aye, 
thousands  of  times  before ;  for  who  knows  what 
varied  forms  the  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen, 
now  locked  up  in  the  cells  of  the  leaf,  have  in 
the  past  helped  to  produce?  Of  what  plant,  what 
animal,  what  man  have  they  formed  a  part?  But 
however  varied  the  object,  which  in  by-gone  ages 
they  have  helped  to  form,  it  has  in  time  fallen  again 
to  the  earth,  been  disintegrated,  and  again,  by  the 
action  of  the  energy  of  sunlight,  the  elements  com- 
posing it  have  been  rebuilt  into  a  new  organic  body 
which  has  aided  the  onward  march  of  our  common 
mother  and  fitted  her  better  for  the  abode  of  man. 

Thus  we  see  in  a  falling  leaf,  as  it  were,  a  simili- 
tude of  our  own  lives,  as  we,  tearing  ourselves  loose 
from  parents  and  home  after  having  been  nourished 
to  the  ripeness  of  manhood,  are  borne  hither  and 
thither  by  the  blasts  and  eddyings  of  fate  and  of  the 
great  society  in  which  we  mingle,  until  at  last  we, 
too,  find  a  resting  place  in  the  earth  and  yield  back 
to  her  the  elements  which  are  her  own. 

While  musing  thus  over  the  falling  leaf,  the  Indian 
summer  day,  perfect  as  it  was,  came  to  a  close.  It 
was,  let  us  hope,  the  first  of  many  yet  to  be  this  au- 
tumn. For  on  such  days  we  enjoy  the  smile  of  nature 
—tender  and  beautiful — her  last  before  she  dons  her 
seeming  shroud  for  winter  wear. 

"So  we  shall  find — our  summer  being  past, 
And  hoar  frost  with  us — for  a  little  breath 
So  fair  a  country,  such  a  genial  air, 
And  shall  forget  our  woes,  and  unaware 
Step  over  the  borderland  of  death." 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN,  OR  THE 
ORTHOPTERA  OF  INDIANA. 


The  word  "  Orthoptera"  means  " straight-winged." 
It  is  a  name  given  to  an  order  or  group  of  insects, 
which  comprises  the  katydids,  grasshoppers,  crickets, 
cockroaches,  walking-sticks,  etc.  The  members  of 
the  order  may  be  known  by  their  biting  mouth  parts, 
and  their  indirect  metamorphosis;  the  young  when 
hatched  being  wingless,  but  of  the  same  form  as  the 
parent;  the  wings  developing  gradually  and  appear- 
ing of  full  size  after  the  skin  has  been  shed  for  the 
fifth  time,  when  they  are  membranous  and,  in  the 
typical  forms,  laid  straight  along  the  back.  In  num- 
ber of  species  the  order  Orthoptcra  is  a  small  one,  but 
about  850  having  been  described  from  the  United 
States.  Of  these  I  have  taken,  personally,  127  in 
Indiana,  divided  among'  six  families,  as  follows: 
Blattid(T  or  cockroaches,  nine;  Phasmidce  or  walking- 
sticks,  one;  Mantidw  or  rear-horses,  two;  Locnstidoe 
or  katydids  and  green  grasshoppers,  39 ;  Gryllidw  or 
crickets,  25;  Acrld'uln  or  short-horned  grasshoppers, 
51.  Taking  up  briefly,  each  of  these  families,  let  us 
note  the  characters  which  distinguish  its  members,  and 
give  a  few  facts  concerning  the  habits  and  life  histories 
of  the  more  common  and  familiar  examples  of  each 
which  are  found  in  Indiana. 


198  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

BLATTIDJE. 

From  the  other  families  of  Orthoptera  the  Blattidw, 
commonly  known  as  cockroaches,  may  be  known  by 
their  depressed  oval  form  ;  their  nearly  horizontal 
head,  which  is  bent  downward  and  almost  concealed 
by  the  broad  chest  or  pro-thorax  ;  their  slender  legs  of 
equal  length  and  size;  their  five-jointed  tarsi  or  feet, 
and  by  the  absence  of  either  ovipositor  or  forceps-like 
appendages  at  the  end  of  the  abdomen. 

The  rings  of  the  abdomen  overlap  each  other  and 
are  capable  of  great  extension  and  depression,  so  that 
these  insects  seem  to  be  pre-eminently  fitted  for  living 
in  the  narrow  crevices  and  cracks  which  they  inhabit. 
The  legs  are  of  peculiar  structure,  in  that  they  are 
long  and  more  or  less  flattened,  thus  enabling  the 
cockroaches  to  run  with  surprising  swiftness;  so  that 
the  family  has  been  placed  by  some  writers  in  a  sep- 
arate sub-order,  the  Cursoria  or  runners.  The  wing 
covers  or  outer  wings  are  leathery,  translucent,  and, 
when  developed,  overlap  when  at  rest;  while  the 
wings  never  exceed  the  wing  covers  in  length,  and  in 
some  cases  are  rudimentary  or  even  wanting. 

From  the  other  Orthoptera  the  cockroaches  differ 
widely  in  their  habits  of  oviposition,  as  the  eggs  are 
not  laid  one  at  a  time,  but  all  at  once,  in  a  peculiar 
capsule  or  egg-case,  called  an  ob'theca.*  These  cap- 
sules vary  in  the  different  species,  as  regards  the  size, 
shape,  and  number  of  eggs  they  contain,  but  they  are 
all  similar  in  structure.  Each  one  is  divided  length- 
wise by  a  membranous  partition  into  two  cells.  Within 

*See  Fig.  44  for  illustration  of  ob'theca  of  Croton  bug. 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  199 

each  of  these  cells  is  a  single  row  of  cylindrical 
pouches,  somewhat  similar  in  appearance  to  those  of 
a  cartridge  belt,  and  within  each  pouch  is  an  egg. 
The  female  cockroach  often  runs  about  for  several 
days  with  an  egg  case  protruding  from  the  abdomen, 
but  finally  drops  it  in  a  suitable  place,  and  from  it  the 
young  in  time  emerge.  While  this  method  of  ovipo- 
sition  is  the  one  practiced  by  all  the  species  of  com- 
mon occurrence  in  the  United  States,  there  seem  to 
be  exceptions  to  it,  as  Dr.  C.  Y.  Riley  a  few  years  ago 
recorded  the  fact  of  an  introduced  tropical  cockroach 
which  produced  the  young  alive. 

All  young  cockroaches  resemble  the  parents  in 
form,  but  are  wholly  wingless,  the  wings  not  appear- 
ing until  after  the  fifth  or  last  moult.  The  young  are 
often  mistaken  for  mature  individuals  by  persons  who 
have  not  made  a  careful  study  of  the  life  history  of 
the  insects;  and  those  of  one  or  two  well  known  and 
common  forms  have,  in  the  past,  even  been  described 
or  figured  as  distinct,  wingless  species  by  some  of  the 
leading  entomologists  of  the  country.  • 

Although  abundantly  represented  in  individuals, 
the  number  of  species  of  cockroaches  inhabiting  the 
Eastern  United  States  is  comparatively  few,  but  about 
twenty  having  been  recorded.  Of  these,  nine,  repre- 
senting five  different  genera,  are  known  to  occur  in 
Indiana.  Of  the  nine,  seven  are  indigenous  or  native 
species,  the  other  two  having  been  introduced  from 
the  Old  World. 

In  this  connection  I  shall  consider  the  habits  of  four 
of  these  insects,  the  first  of  which  is  the  Oriental  or 
black  roach,  Periplaneta  orientalis  (L.).  This  species  is 


200 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


dark  mahogany-brown  in  color,  and  full  grown  speci- 
mens are  about  an  inch  in  length.     The  outer  wings  of 
the  female  are  only  about  one-fifth  of  an  inch  long, 
while  those  of  the  male  are  more  than  half  an  inch  and 
cover   three-fourths    or   more   of   the 
The  Oriental     a^(jomen>     AS  its  name  indicates,  it  is 
Black  Roach.    a  native  of  Asia,  but  has  been  carried 
from  one  country  to  another  by  ship- 
ping.    It  delights  in  filth  and  darkness,  and  hence  in 
the  holds  of  vessels,  the  cellars  and  basements  of  tene- 


Fig.  41— Oriental  or  Black  Roach. 

,     (a,  female;    i>,  male;    c,  side  \iew  of  female;   d,  half-grown 
specimen.    After  Howard.) 

ment  houses,  and  in  all  damp,  dirty  places  it  swarms 
by  thousands,  undoubtedly  doing  much  good  as  a 
scavenger,  but  infinitely  more  harm  on  account  of  its 
omnivorous  and  insatiable  appetite.  Like  most  other 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  201 

members  of  the  family,  it  feeds  mainly  at  night,  ap- 
pearing to  detest  and  avoid  the  light,  as  one  can 
readily  prove  by  taking  a  lighted  lamp  suddenly  into 
its  haunts,  when  a  hurried  scrambling  will  take  place 
towards  its  daylight  retreats,  and  but  a  few  moments 
will  elapse  before  the  last  of  the  busy  marauders  will 
have  disappeared. 

This  is  probably  the  most  carnivorous  of  all  our 
cockroaches,  though,  like  most  others,  it  is  fond  of 
starchy  food.  It  is  known  to  feed  upon  meat,  cheese, 
wroolen  clothes,  and  even  old  leather,  and  is  said  to  be 
especially  fond  of  the  festive  bed-bug,  Acanthia  lectu- 
laria  L.,  which  soon  disappears  from  a  house  infested 
with  the  Oriental  roach. 

Its  eggs  are  sixteen  in  number,  and  the  large  horny 
capsule  or  ootheca  in  which  they  are  packed  is  carried 
about  by  the  mother  for  a  week  or  longer  when  she 
drops  it  in  a  warm  and  sheltered  place.  Along  one 
side  of  the  capsule,  which  resembles  in  form  and  color  a 
diminutive  seed  of  the  papaw,  Asimina  triloba  Dunal, 
is  a  seam  where  the  two  edges  are  cemented  closely 
together.  When  the  young  are  hatched  they  excrete  a 
liquid  which  dissolves  the  cement  and  enables  them 
to  escape  without  assistance,  leaving  their  infantile 
receptacle  as  entire  as  it  was  before  they  quitted  it. 

In  Indiana  the  Oriental  roach  is  found  in  all  the 
larger  towns  and  cities,  and  is  one  of  the  most  noisome 
and  disagreeable  insects  with  which  certain  classes  of 
their  inhabitants  have  to  contend.  It  seldom  occurs  in 
houses  in  thinly  settled  localities,  and  never,  as  far  as 
my  observation  goes,  beneath  the  bark  of  logs  and 
stumps. 


202 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


'The   American    cockroach,    Periplancta    a  merle-ana 

(L.),  is,  as  its  name 
implies,  a  native  of 
this  country,  but, 
like  the  Oriental 
roach,  it  has  spread 
to  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth.  It  is 
by  far  the  largest 
species  found  in  the 
State,  the  male 
measuring  If  inches 
from  head  to  tip  of 
wings,  the  latter  in 
both  sexes  reaching 
beyond  the  end  of 
the  abdomen.  The 
general  color  is  red- 
dish-brown, the  top 
of  the  thorax  being 
margined  rather  broadly  with  yellow.  In  Indiana 
it  seems  to  be  of  rather  limited  dis- 

rip« 

tribution,  as  I  know  of  its  occurrence 
American  _^ 

Cockroach  m  ^nt  ^wo  counties,  Putnam  and 
Marion.  It  occurs  in  numbers  in 
some  of  the  leading  hotels  of  Indianapolis, but  usually 
confines  itself  to  the  basement  and  first  floor,  and 
appears  to  be  much  more  cleanly  in  its  choice  of  an 
abiding  place  than  does  the  closely  allied  Oriental 
roach. 

The  Pennsylvania  cockroach,  Ischnoptera  pennsyl- 
vanica  (DeGeer),  is  also  a  native  species,  and  is  the 


Fig.  42 — American  Cockroach. 
(Enlarged  one-third.    After  Howard.) 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN. 


203 


most  common  roach  in  the  State,  being  found  every- 
where beneath  the  loose  bark  of  logs  and  old  stumps. 
It    is    usually    seen    in   the   wingless 

The  stages,  the  mature  individuals  being 

Pennsylvania  .      f  -  .  ~ 

Cockroach       common  only  from   May  to  October. 

The  half  grown  young  are  of  a  shining, 
dark  brown  color,  the  dorsal  surface  of  the  thoracic 
segments  often  lighter.  The  wings  of  adult  specimens 
are  long  and  narrow,  extending  in  both  sexes  much 
beyond  the  tip  of  the  abdo- 
men. The  total  length  is  more 
than  an  inch  and  the  color  is 
reddish-brown  writh  a  whitish 
stripe  on  the  margins  of  wings 
and  thorax. 

As  mature  specimens  are  at- 
tracted by  light,  country  houses 
are  often  badly  infested  writh 
them  ;  and  where  food  is  scarce 
the  wall  paper  is  sometimes 
much  injured  for  the  sake  of 
the  paste  beneath.  What  the  hordes  of  young  which 
dwell  under  the  bark  of  logs  live  upon  is  a  question 
as  yet  unsettled,  but  the  larvee  of  other  insects  un- 
doubtedly form  a  portion  of  their  food,  as  in  two 
instances  I  have  found  them  feeding  upon  the  dead 
grubs  of  a  Tenebrio  beetle;  while  living,  as  well 
as  decaying,  vegetable  matter  probably  forms  the 
other  portion.  The  mating  of  the  adults  mostly 
occurs  in  late  summer  and  early  autumn,  the  newly 
hatched  young  being  most  abundant  from  mid- 
September  until  December.  The  young  in  various 


Fig.  43— Pennsylvania  Cock- 
roach.   (After  Lugger.) 


204  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATUliE. 

stages  of  growth  survive  the  winter  in  the  places 
mentioned,  they  being  the  most  common  insects  noted 
in  the  woods  at  that  season.  Cold  has  seemingly  but 
little  effect  on  them,  as  they  scramble  away  almost  as 
hurriedly  when  their  protective  shelter  of  bark  is 
removed  on  a  day  in  mid-January  with  the  mercury 
at  zero,  as  they  do  in  June,  when  it  registers  a  hun- 
dred in  the  shade. 

The  empty  egg  cases  of  the  Pennsylvania  roach  are 
very  common  objects  beneath  the  loose  bark  of  logs 
and  especially  beneath  the  long  flakes  of  the  shell- 
bark  hickory.  They  are  chestnut  brown  in  color, 
about  J  x  J  inches  in  size,  and  are  much  less  flattened 
than  those  of  the  Croton  bug,  described  below.  The 
dorsal  or  entire  edge  is  slightly  curved  or  bent 
inwards,  after  the  fashion  of  a  small  bean.  The 
young,  after  hatching,  evidently  escape  in  the  same 
manner  as  do  those  of  the  Oriental  cockroach,  as  no 
break  is  visible  in  the  empty  capsule. 

The  last  of  the  four  cockroaches  to  be  considered  is 
the  "Croton  bug,"  Phyllodromia  germanica  (L.),  so 
called  because  it  made  its  appearance  in  Xew  York 
City  in  numbers  about  the  time  the  Croton  aqueduct 
was  completed.  It  is  a  native  of  Central  Europe,  but 
like  the  Oriental  roach  has  become  cosmopolitan. 

This  is  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  nine  cockroaches 

known  to  occur  in  the  State ;  the  total  length  being 

J  inch  or  less.     The  general  color  is  a 

TheB^roton  light  brownish-yellow,  the  females 
often  darker.  The  thorax  has  two 
dark  brown  bands,  enclosing  a  yellowish  stripe. 

The  egg  case  of  the  Croton  bug  is  very  light  brown, 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN. 


205 


a  little  over  twice  as  long  as  broad,  with  the  sides 
somewhat  flattened  and  the  edges  parallel.  Within 
it  the  eggs,  thirty-six  in  number,  are  arranged  in  the 
usual  two  rows.  It  is  carried  about  by  the  mother 
roach  for  several  days  with  from  half  to  three-fourths 
of  its  length  protruding  from  the  abdomen,  and  when 
dropped  in  a  favorable  place  the  young  evidently 
very  soon  emerge  from  it ;  for  in  a  bottle  in  which  a 
female  with  protruding  ootheca  was  placed  at  eleven 
o'clock  P.  M.  the  young  were  found  to  have  emerged 
on  the  following  morning  at  eight. 


Fig.  44— Croton  Bug. 

(a,  first  stage;  b,  second  stage;  c,  third  stage;  d,  fourth  stage;  e,  adult ;/, adult 
female  with  egg  case;  g,  egg  case  enlarged;  h,  adult  with  wings  spread.  After 
Howard.) 

The  Croton  bug  seldom,  if  ever,  occurs  in  numbers 
in  the  country,  but  is  one  of  the  worst  insect  pests 
with  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  larger  cities  of  In- 
diana have  to  deal.  It  is  the  most  fecund  of  all  the 
roaches,  and  the  seasons  of  mating  and  hatching  of 
the  young  are,  perhaps,  more  irregular  than  in  any 
other  species.  Adult  forms  are  evidently  to  be  found 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  as  I  have  taken  them  in 


206  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

December,  April  and  October.  It  is  not  so  much  a 
lover  of  filthy  surroundings  as  is  the  Oriental  roach, 
and  hence  frequents  much  more  often  than  that  species 
the  dwellings  of  the  better  class  of  people.  It  delights 
in  warm,  moist  places,  and  is  especially  abundant  and 
destructive  in  buildings  which  are  heated  by  steam. 
Where  it  once  obtains  a  foothold  and  the  surroundings 
of  temperature  and  food  supply  are  favorable,  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  eradicate,  as  its  small,  flattened 
form  enables  it  to  hide  and  breed  in  cracks  and  crev- 
ices, which  none  of  the  larger  roaches  can  enter. 

Like  many  other  omnivorous  animals,  Croton  bugs 
fine]  in  wheaten  flour  a  food  substance  which  is  rich 
in  nutrition  and  easily  digested,  and  so  prefer  wheat 
breads  and  starchy  materials  to  all  other  foods.  On 
account  of  this  liking  they  often  do  much  harm  to 
cloth-bound  books  by  gnawing  their  covers  in  search 
of  the  paste  beneath.  They  also  seem  to  have  a 
peculiar  liking  for  paints  of  various  kinds,  and  in  the 
oflice  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  at  Wash- 
ington, have  done  much  damage  by  eating  off  the  red 
and  blue  paints  from  the  drawings  of  important  maps. 
On  one  occasion  they  made  a  raid  on  a  box  of  water 
colors,  where  they  devoured  the  cakes  of  paint,  ver- 
milion, cobalt  and  umber,  alike  ;  and  the  only  vestiges 
left  were  the  excrements  in  the  form  of  small  pellets 
of  various  colors  in  the  bottom  of  the  box. 

In  giving  a  remedy  for  this  and,  other  species  of 
cockroaches  which  frequent  houses,  I  can  not  do  bet- 
ter than  quote  from  Dr.  Riley's  excellent  article  in 
"Insect  Life."  He  says:  "Without  condemning 
other  useful  measures  or  remedies  like  borax,  I  would 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  207 

repeat  that  in  the  free  and  persistent  use  of  California 
Buhach,  or  some  other  fresh  and  reliable  brand  of 
Pyrethrum  or  Persian  Insect  Powder,  we  have  the 
most  satisfactory  means  of  dealing  with  these  roaches. 

"Just  before  nightfall  go  into  the  infested  rooms 
and  puff  into  all  crevices,  under  base-boards,  into 
drawers  and  cracks  of  old  furniture — in  fact,  wherever 
there  is  a  crack — and  in  the  morning  the  floor  will  be 
covered  with  dead  and  dying  or  demoralized  and 
paralyzed  roaches,  which  may  easily  be  swept  up  or 
otherwise  collected  and  burned. 

"With  cleanliness  and  persistency  in  these  methods 
the  pest  may  be  substantially  driven  out  of  a  house, 
and  should  never  be  allowed  to  get  full  possession  by 
immigrants  from  without. 

"For  no  other  insects  have  so  many  quack  remedies 
been  urged  and  are  so  many  newspaper  remedies  pub- 
lished. Many  of  them  have  their  good  points,  but 
the  majority  are  worthless.  In  fact,  rather  than  put 
faith  in  half  of  those  which  have  been  published,  it 
would  be  better  to  rely  on  the  recipe  which  is  current 
among  the  Mexicans : 

"'To  Get  Rid  of  Cockroaches.— Catch  three  and 
put  them  in  a  bottle,  and  so  carry  them  to  where  two 
roads  cross.  Here  hold  the  bottle  upside  down,  and 
as  they  fall  out  repeat  aloud  three  credos.  Then  all 
the  cockroaches  in  the  house  from  which  these  three 
came  will  go  away.' ' 


208 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


\ 


PHASMIDJE. 

Belonging  to  the  family  Phasmidce,  there  occurs  in 
Indiana,  as  far  as  known,  but  one  species,  the  walking- 
stick,  Diapheromera  femorata 
(Say).  This  insect  furnishes 

a    most    ex- 
The  Walking=         , , 

stick.          cellent   ex- 
ample    of 

adaptation  for  the  purpose 
of  protection:  It  is  wing- 
less and  possesses  a  long, 
cylindrical  body,  resembling- 
a  slender  stick  with  the  bark 
on  it.  It  moves  very  slowly, 
arid  has  a  habit  of  remain- 
ing motionless  and  appar- 
ently dead  for  a  considera- 
ble length  of  time.  On  such 
occasions  it  usually  stretches 
itself  out  from  a  twig,  with 
its  front  legs  and  antennae 
extended,  and  then  can 
scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  a  prolongation  or 
branch  of  the  twig.  Many 
people  who  see  them  thus 
for  the  first  time  and  after- 
wards watch  them  moving 
slowly  away,  can  scarcely 
be  persuaded  that  they  are 
not  real  twigs,  gifted  in  some 


\ 

Fig.  45— Walking-stick. 
(After  Liigger.) 


mysterious  manner  with  life  and  motion. 


.       KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  209 

The  walking-stick  feeds,  during  its  entire  life,  upon 
the  foliage  of  various  trees,  being  especially  fond  of 
the  leaves  of  the  wild  cherry.  The  eggs  are  dropped 
upon  the  ground  by  the  mother  insect,  who  takes  no 
farther  notice  of  them.  The  young,  when  hatched, 
trust  to  chance  and  their  peculiar  shape  to  escape 
those  higher  forms  which  are  ever  ready  to  prey  upon 
every  living  thing  which  promises  them  a  bit  of  sus- 
tenance. 

MANTID^l. 

Two  species  of  the  family  Mantidce  are  found  spar- 
ingly in  southern  Indiana.  Of  these  the  best  known 
is  the  Carolina  mantis,  or  rear-horse,  one  of  the  two 
or  three  species  of  Orthoptera,  which 
are  in  the  s%htest  Degree  beneficial. 
It  is  a  rather  large  insect,  of  a  green- 
ish or  gray  color.  When  disturbed  it  elevates  or 
rears  the  fore  part  of  its  body  almost  perpendicularly, 
fixes  its  large,  staring  eyes  upon  the  intruder  and 
turns  its  head  sideways  in  a  very  ludicrous  manner, 
so  as  to  follow,  if  possible,  every  movement  of  its  sup- 
posed enemy.  If  a  small  object,  as  a  blade  of  grass, 
be  then  thrust  towards  it,  it  will  strike  out  vigorously 
with  its  saber-like  fore  feet,  or  else  retreat  to  what  it 
considers  a  safe  distance. 

Being  a  rapacious  insect,  its  fore  limbs  have,  in 
time,  become  peculiarly  adapted  for  grasping  organs. 
The  tibiee  are  robust  and  armed  with  a  double  row 
of  spines ;  the  tarsi  or  feet  are  short,  spiny  and  curved 
so  as  to  fit  into  the  under  side  of  the  tibiae  like  the 
blade  of  a  clasp  knife  when  closed.  When  in  pursuit 
14 


210  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  its  prey  the  mantis  moves  almost  imperceptibly 
along,  stealing  towards  its  victim  like  a  cat  approach- 
ing a  mouse.  When  sufficiently  near,  the  fore  leg  is 
suddenly  extended  to  its  full  length  and  the  unlucky 
insect  is  immediately  caught  and  impaled  by  the 
spines  between  the  tibiae  and  tarsi,  carried  to  the 
mouth  and  deliberately  eaten  piecemeal  while  yet 
alive  and  struggling  to  escape. 

The  Carolina  mantis  is  occasionally  found  as  far 
north  as  Indianapolis,  where  it  reaches  maturity 
about  September  1st.  When  the  two  sexes  are  cap- 


Fig.  46— Carolina  Mantis. 

tured  and  placed  together  the  female  soon  begins  to 
feed  upon  her  liege  lord,  and  finally  devours  all  por- 
tions of  him  which  are  in  the  least  degree  digestible. 
The  eggs  are  grouped  together  in  agglutinated  masses 
of  40  or  more  and  covered  with  a  coarse  web  of  silk, 
the  top  of  the  mass  then  appearing  as  if  its  compo- 
nent parts  were  braided  together.  In  this  manner 
the  species  survives  the  winter  and  in  May,  when  in- 
sect life  begins  to  abound,  the  young  emerge  and  use 
their  prominent  staring  eyes  to  good  advantage  in 
seeking  plant  lice  and  other  minute  forms  which  fur- 
nish them  their  first  of  many  meals. 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIE  KIN,  211 


LOCUSTID.E. 

The  family  of  Orthoptera  known  as  the  Locustidaz 
comprises  those  insects  commonly  called  katydids, 
green  grasshoppers,  and  stone  or  camel  crickets.  The 
distinguishing  characters  of  the  members  of  this  fam- 
ily are  the  long,  slender,  tapering,  many-jointed 
antennae ;  the  almost  universal  absence  of  simple 
eyes;  the  four-jointed  tarsi  or  feet;  and  the  sword- 
shaped  ovipositor  of  the  females.  The  outer  wings, 
when  present,  slope  obliquely  downwards,  instead  of 
being  bent  abruptly,  as  in  the  cricket  family ;  and  in 
most  cases  the  wings  are  longer  than  the  wing  covers. 

The  stridulating  or  musical  organ  of  the  males  is 
quite  similar  in  structure  to  that  of  the  male  cricket, 
being  found  at  the  base  of  the  overlapping  dorsal 
surface  of  the  wing  covers  and  usually  consisting  of 
a  transparent  membrane,  of  a  more  or  less  rounded 
form,  which  is  crossed  by  a  prominent  curved  vein 
bearing  on  the  under  side  a  single  row  of  minute  file- 
like  teeth.  In  stridulating,  the  wing  covers  are  moved 
apart  and  then  shuffled  together  again,  when  these 
teeth  are  rubbed  over  a  vein  on  the  upper  surface 
of  the  other  wing  cover,  producing  the  familiar,  so- 
called  "katydid"  sound.  Each  of  the  different  spe- 
cies makes  a  distinct  call  or  note  of  its  own,  and 
many  of  them  have  two  calls,  one  which  they  use  by 
night  and  the  other  by  day.  Any  one  who  will  pay 
close  attention  to  these  different  calls  can  soon  learn 
to  distinguish  each  species  by  its  note  as  readily  as 
the  ornithologist  can  recognize  different  species  of 
birds  in  the  same  manner.  The  ear  of  these  insects. 


212  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

when  present,  is  also  similar  in  structure  and  position 
to  that  of  the  cricket's,  being  an  oblong  or  oval  cav- 
ity covered  with  a  transparent  or  whitish  membrane, 
and  situated  on  the  front  leg  near  the  basal  end  of 
the  tibia. 

The  young  of  the  Locustidce,  like  those  of  the  other 
families  of  the  order,  when  hatched  from  the  egg 
resemble  the  adults  in  form  but  are  wholly  wingless, 
As  they  increase  in  size  they  moult  or  shed  the  skin 
five  times,  the  wings  each  time  becoming  more  appar- 
ent, until  after  the  fifth  moult,  when  they  appear  fully 
developed,  and  the  insect  is  mature  or  full  grown, 
never  increasing  in  size  thereafter.  Throughout  their 
entire  lives  they  are  active,  greedy  feeders,  mostly 
herbivorous  in  habit;  and,  where  present  in  numbers, 
necessarily  do  much  harm  to  growing  vegetation. 
Thirty-nine  species  of  the  family  are  known  to  occur 
in  Indiana. 

Popularly  speaking,  we  may  divide  the  members 
of  the  family  into  three  groups,  the  katydids,  green 
grasshoppers  and  stone  or  camel  crickets.  Taking 
these  up  in  the  order  mentioned,  we  find  that  the 
"katydids,"  nine  species  of  which  have,  up  to  the 
present,  been  recorded  from  the  State,  are  the  most 
arboreal  of  all  the  Locustidce.  The  great  majority  of 
them  pass  their  entire  lives  on  shrubs  and  trees, 
where  they  feed  upon  the  leaves  and 

tender   twigs,    and,   when   present   in 
Katydids.  /        .    . 

numbers,    often   do   excessive    injury. 

The  color  and  form  of  their  wings  serve  admirably  to 
protect  them  against  their  worst  foes,  the  birds;  and 
as  they  live  a  solitary  life,  i.  e.,  do  not  fiock  together 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN. 


213 


in  numbers  as  do  the  green  grasshoppers,  they  are  but 
seldom  noticed  by  man.  Their  love  calls  or  songs, 
however,  make  the  welkin  ring  at  night  from  mid- 
August  until  after  heavy  frost,  and  though  but  one 
of  the  nine  species  found  in  the  State  makes  a  note 
in  any  way  resembling  the  syllables  "katy-did,  she- 
did,"  yet  all  are  accredited  with  this  sound  by  the 
casual  observer,  and  hence  the  common  name  usually 
given  to  the  members  of  this  sub-family.  Their  call 
is  seldom  made  by  day  for  the  obvious  reason  that  it 
might  attract  the  attention  of  the  birds  and  so  lead 
to  the  destruction  of  the  insect.  As  twilight 
approaches,  however,  the  male  of  each  species  begins 
his  peculiar  note,  which  is  kept  up, 
with  little  or  no  intermission,  until 
the  approach  of  day  warns  him  that 
his  feathered  enemies  will  soon  be  on 
the  alert,  and  that  silence  will  be,  for 
a  time,  the  best  policy  to  pursue. 

From  the  other  Locustidce  the  katy- 
dids differ  widely  in  their  habits  of 
oviposition,  the  eggs  not  being  depos- 
ited on  the  earth  or  in  twigs,  but  are 
usually  glued  fast  in  double  rows  to 
the  outer  surface  of  slender  twigs  or 
on  the  edges  of  leaves.  The  eggs  of 
the  most  common  species  appear  like 
flattened  hemp  seeds,  and  usually  over- 
lap one  another  in  the  row  in  which  Fig.  47-Eggs  of 
they  are  placed.  On  account  of  this  Angular-winged 

\       ,      £        .          ...  .          .-  Katydid. 

method  of  oviposition,  the  ovipositors 

of  the  katydids  are  broader,  more  curved  and  more 


214  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

obtuse  at  the  end  than  in  the  other  sub-families,  whose 

members  oviposit  in  the  earth  or  In  the  stems  of  grass. 
The  broad-winged  or  "true  katydid,"  Cyrtophyllus 

concavus  (Harris),  is  found  in  considerable  numbers 

throughout   the    State,  but    is    much 

The  Broad=      more  commonly  heard  than  seen,  as  it 

Kat^Hd         dwells  singly  or  in  pairs  in  the  densest 

foliage  which  it  can  find,  such  as  the 

tops  of  shade  trees  and  the  entwining  vines  of  the 

grape  arbor.  In  central 
Indiana  it  reaches  matur- 
ity as  early  as  July  20 ; 
and  is  more  domestic  in 
its  habits  than  any  other 
species  of  the  "katydid" 
group,  frequenting,  for 
the  most  part,  the  shrub- 
bery of  yards,  orchards 
and  the  trees  along  fence 
rows,  being  seldom,  heard 
in  extensive  wooded 
tracts.  Its  note  is  the 
loudest  made  by  any  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  the  male 
having  the  musical  organ 
larger  and  better  devel- 
oped than  in  any  other. 
The  call  is  almost  always 
begun  soon  after  dusk 
with  a  single  note  uttered 
at  intervals  of  about  five 

Fig.  48— Broad-winged  Katydid. 

(Male.    After  Harris.)  SCCOnds    for    a    half    dozen 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  215 

or  more  times.  This  preliminary  note  gives  the 
listener  the  impression  that  the  musician  is  tuning 
his  instrument  preparatory  to  the  well  known  double 
call  which  is  soon  begun  and  kept  up  almost  contin- 
uously from  dark  till  dawn. 

Of  this  call,  Mr.  S.  H.  Scudder  has  written:  uThe 
note  of  the  true  katydid,  which  sounds  like  Xr,  has  a 
shocking  lack  of  melody;  the  poets  who  have  sung 
its  praises,  must  have  heard  it  at  the  distance  that 
lends  enchantment.  In  close  proximity,  the  sound  is 
excessively  rasping  and  grating — louder  and  coarser 
than  I  have  ever  heard  from  any  of  the  Locustarians 
in  America  or  in  Europe,  and  the  Locustarians  are 
the  noisiest  of  all  Orthoptera.  Since  these  creatures 
are  abundant  wherever  they  occur,  the  noise  produced 
by  them,  on  an  evening  especially  favorable  to  their 
song,  is  most  discordant.  Usually,  the  notes  are  two 
in  number,  rapidly  repeated  at  short  intervals.  Per- 
haps nine  out  often  will  ordinarily  give  this  number, 
but  occasionally  a  stubborn  insect  persists  in  sound- 
ing the  triple  note — 'katy-she-did' — and  as  katydids 
appear  desirous  of  defiantly  answering  their  neigh- 
bors in  the  same  measure,  the  proximity  of  a  treble- 
voiced  songster  demoralizes  a  wThole  neighborhood, 
and  a  curious  medley  results.  Notes  from  some  indi- 
viduals may  then  be  heard  all  the  while,  scarcely  a 
moment's  time  intervening  between  their  stridula- 
tions — some  nearer,  others  at  a  greater  distance — so 
that  the  air  is  filled  by  these  noisy  troubadours  with 
an  indescribably  confused  and  grating  clatter." 

The  "  angular-winged  katydid,"  Microcentrum  lauri- 
folium  (L.),  is  another  species  which  in  the  country  is 


216 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


commonly  called   "the  katydid,"  and   the   note   of 

Cyrtophyllus  concavus  is  usually  attributed  to  it  but  its 

true  note  may  be  represented  "by  the 

.  syllable  '  tic]  repeated  from  ei^ht  to 
Angular-winged  J 

Katydid.        twenty  times  at  the  rate  of  about  four 

to  the  second."      It   is   evidently   at- 
tracted by  light,  being   often   found   in   the   gutters 
beneath  the  electric  lights  in  the 
larger   cities  and  towns.     It  oc- 
curs,   probably,   throughout   the 
State,  but  is  more  common  south- 
ward   and  is  nowhere  found   in 
sufficient  numbers  to  be  injuri- 
ous.    The  eggs  are  laid  on  twigs 
which  have  been   previously 
roughened    with    the   jaws    and 
js    otherwise  prepared  for  a  place  of 
*    deposit.     The  two  rows  are  con- 
.§   tiguous  and  the  eggs  of  one  alter- 
I    nate    with    those    of   the    other. 
§.   Those  of  the  same  row  overlap 
about  one-fourth  of  their  length. 
They    are    of    a   grayish   brown 
color,  long  oval  in  shape,  very  flat, 
and  measure  5.5x3  mm.     They 
are  usually  deposited  in  Septem- 
ber, hatch  the  following  May,  and 
the   young,    in    central    Indiana, 
reach  maturity  during  the   first 
half  of  August. 
The  green  grasshoppers  are  those  slender-bodied 
Loemtidte,  with  long?  tapering  antennae,  which  are  so 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  217 

common  in  summer  and  early  autumn  in  damp  mead- 
ows and  prairies,  and  along  the  mar- 
gins of  streams,   ditches   and   ponds. 
Grasshoppers.    5 

They  are  mostly  terrestrial  in  their 
habits,  but  one  or  two  of  the  larger  ones  ever  being 
found  in  trees. 

Of  this  group  21  species  have  been  found  in  Indi- 
ana, four  of  which,  called  "  cone-headed  grasshoppers," 
are  more  than  twice  as  large  as  the  others  and  have 
the  vertex  or  top  of  the  head  prolonged  forwards  and 
upwards  into  a  prominent  cone.  The  outer  wings  are 
long  and  slender,  and  the  ovipositor  is  oftentimes  of 
excessive  length.  The  total  length  of  the  females  is 
between  one  and  a  half  and  two  inches,  that  of  the 
males  averaging  about  a  third  less. 

These  insects  seem  to  "  possess  more  intelligence  than 
is  usual  among  the  Orthoptera,  and  they  are  about 
the  most  difficult  of  the  order  to  approach.  In  escap- 
ing they  usually  slip  or  fall  into  the  grass  instead  of 
jumping  or  flying;  but  they  seem  to  fully  understand 
that  they  are  very  well  protected  by  their  color  and 
form.  If  approached  very  cautiously  they  often  re- 
main quite  still  upon  the  stem  of  grass  upon  which 
you  have  surprised  them,  with  the  usually  well 
founded  expectation  that  you  will  not  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  green  herbage  around.  If 
they  think  it  worth  while  to  make  some  active  move- 
ment to  escape  thay  will  frequently  slip  around  on 
the  other  side  of  the  stem  and  walk  down  it  to 
the  ground  or  off  upon  another  plant.  Unlike  most 
Orthoptera  they  do  not  use  their,  front  legs  in  hold- 
ing to  the  mouth  the  thing  upon  which  they  feed. 


218  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Instead  of  biting  they  seem  to  wrench  or  tear  away 
pieces  from  the  stems  or  leaves." 

The  females  of  the  cone-heads  deposit  their  eggs 
between  the  stems  and  root  leaves  of  coarse  grasses 
and  sedges.  The  young  are  hatched  in  May  and 
reach  maturity  about  the  5th  of  August.  The  notes 
of  the  male  vary  much  according  to  species,  that  of 
the  more  common  "sword-bearer,"  Conocephaltis  en- 
siger  Harris,  being  similar  to  the  syllables  "  ik-ik-ik" 
as  if  sharpening  a  saw,  this  sound  enlivening  low 


Fig.  50— Sword-bearer. 
(Female.    After  Lugger.) 

bushes,  and  particularly  the  corn  patch,  as  it  seems 
to  especially  delight  in  perching  near  the  top  of  a 
cornstalk  and  there  giving  forth,  its  rather  impulsive 
song. 

The  other  members  of  the  green-grasshopper  group, 
17  in  number  known  to  occur  in  the  State,  seldom 
exceed  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length.  The  color 
of  their  bodies  corresponds  closely  to  that  of  the 
stems  and  leaves  of  the  sedges  and  grasses  among 
which  they  dwell,  and  so  protects  them  from  the  sight 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  219 

of  the  few  birds  which  frequent  a  like  locality.  Their 
songs,  produced  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  their 
larger  cousins,  the  katydids,  are  as  frequent  by  day 
as  by  night,  but  are  usually  soft  and  low  in  compar- 
ison with  those  of  the  former.  Their  day  song  dif- 
fers from  that  of  the  night,  and,  "it  is  curious  to 
observe  these  little  creatures  suddenly  changing  from 
the  day  to  the  night  song  at  the  mere  passing  of  a 
cloud,  and  returning  to  the  old  note  when  the  sky  is 
clear.  By  imitating  the  two  songs  in  the  daytime, 
the  grasshopper  can  be  made  to  represent  either  at 
will ;  at  night  they  have  but  one  note." 


Fig.  51— Lance-tailed  Grasshopper. 
Xiphidium  attenuatunt  Scudder. 

The  eggs  of  these  smaller  green  grasshoppers  are 
deposited  within  the  stems  or  root  leaves  of  grass,  the 
pith  of  twigs,  or  sometimes  in  the  turnip-shaped  galls 
so  common  on  certain  species  of  willow.  The  ovi- 
positor being  thus  used  as  a  piercer,  has  in  time  de- 
veloped into  a  slender  and  sharp-pointed  instrument 
which  is  but  little  curved  and  is  frequently  of  exces- 
sive length,  in  some  species  being  over  twice  as  long 
as  the  remainder  of  the  body. 

Eight  of  the  seventeen  belong  to  the  genus  Xiphi- 
dium,  meaning  "sword-bearer,"  which  Includes  the 


220  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

smallest  and  most  slender-bodied  of  the  winged 
Locustidce. 

A  very  common  member  of  this  genus  in  western 
Indiana  is  Xiphidium  nemorale  Scudder.  It  reaches 
maturity  about  August  15th  and  from  then  until  after 
heavy  frosts  may  be  found  in  numbers  along  the,  bor- 
ders of  dry,  upland  woods,  fence  rows  and  roadsides, 
where  it  delights  to  rest  on  the  low  shrubs,  blackberry 
bushes,  or  coarse  weeds  usually  growing  in  such  local- 
ities. On  the  sunny  afternoons  of  mid-autumn  it  is 
especially  abundant  on  the  lower  parts  of  the  rail  and 
board  fences,  the  male  uttering  his  faint  and  monot- 
onous love  call — a  sort  of  eh-e-e-e-e — ch-e-e-e-e,  contin- 
uously repeated — the  female  but  a  short  distance 
away,  a  motionless,  patient,  and  apparently  attentive 
listener. 

The  remaining  nine  members  of  the  group  belong 
to  the  genus  Orchelimum,  the  literal  meaning  of  which 
is,  "I  dance  in  the  meadows."  The  name  is  a  most 
appropriate  one,  for  low,  moist  meadows  everywhere 
swarm  with  these  insects  from  July  to  November; 
and  though  waltzes  and  quadrilles  are  probably  not 
indulged  in,  yet  the  music  and  song,  the  wooing  and 
love  making,  wrhich  are  the  natural  accompaniments 
of  those  amusements,  are  ever  present,  and  make  the 
short  season  of  mature  life  of  the  participants  a  seem- 
ingly happy  one. 

Among  these  the  "common  meadow  grasshopper," 
Orchelimum  vulgare  Harris,  is  probably  the  most 
abundant  member  of  the  family  Locustidce  found  in 
Indiana.  It  begins  to  reach  maturity  in  the  central 
part  of  the  State  aboutvTuly  20th,  and  more  frequently 


KATYDWS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  221 

than  any  other  of  our  species  of  Orchelimum  is  found 
in  upland  localities,  along  fence  rows,  and  in  clover 
and  timothy  mead- 
ows. In  early  au- 
tumn it  is  very  fond 
of  resting  on  the 
leaves  and  sterns  of 
the  iron -weed  so 

Common     111    many          Fig.  52— Common  Meadow  Grasshopper. 
blue-graSS      pastures.  (Male.    After  Lugger.) 

This  green  grasshopper  seems  to  be  somewhat  carniv- 
orous in  habif,  as  on  two  occasions  I  have  discovered  it 
feeding  upon  the  bodies  of  small  moths  which  in  some 
way  it  had  managed  to  capture.  The  note  of  the  male 
is  the  familiar  zip-zip-zip-zip — ze-e-e-e — the  first  part 
being  repeated  about  four  times,  usually  about  twice 
a  second ;  the  ze-e-e-e  continuing  from  two  or  three  to 
twenty  or  more  seconds. 

"The  poetry  of  earth  is  never  dead: 

When  all  the  birds  are  faint  with  the  hot  sun, 
And  hide  in  cooling  trees,  a  voice  will  run 

From  hedge  to  hedge  about  the  new  mown  mead; 

That  is  the  grasshopper's — he  takes  the  lead 
In  summer  luxury,  he  has  never  done 
With  his  delights ;  for  when  tired  out  with  fun 

He  rests  at  ease  beneath  some  pleasant  weed." 

The  "stone   or   camel    crickets,"  nine   species   of 
which  occur  in  Indiana,  are   wingless  Locustidce  of 

medium   or  large   size   with   a   thick 
The  Stone  or      ,      ^  11111        mi  i 

Camel  Crickets     body  an(*  arched  back.      I  hey  are  sel- 
dom seen  except  by  the  professional 
collector,  as  they  are  nocturnal  in  their  habits,  and 
during  the  day  hide  beneath  stones  along  the  margins 


222  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  small  woodland  streams,  or  beneath  logs  and 
chunks  in  damp  woods,  in  which  places  seldom  less 
than  two,  nor  more  than  three  or.  four,  are  found 
associated  together. 

That  they  are  well  nigh  omnivorous  in  their  choice 
of  food,  I  have  determined  hy  keeping  them  in  con- 
finement, when  they 
fed  upon  meat  as 
well  as  upon  pieces 
of  fruit  and  vegeta- 
bles, seemingly  pre- 
ferring* the  latter. 

Fig.  53— Stone  or  Camel  Cricket.  5 

Ceuthophiiu*  macuiatus  (Say).  1  he  majority  of  the 

(Female.    After  Lugger.)  SpedeS       evidently 

reach  maturity  and  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  late  sum- 
mer or  early  autumn,  as  the  full  grown  insects  are 
more  common  then,  but  have  been  taken  as  late  as 
December  1st.  The  eggs,  which  are  supposed  to  be 
laid  in  the  earth,  usually  hatch  in  April ;  but  some  are 
hatched  in  autumn  and  the  young  live  over  winter 
(an  anomaly  among,  the  Locustidse),  as  I  have  taken 
them  in  January  and  February  from  the  localities 
which  the  adults  frequent  in  summer.  Several  of  the 
species  inhabit  caves  and  are  usually  of  much  larger 
size,  with  longer  antennse  and  smaller  compound  eyes 
than  those  found  above  ground. 

GRYLLIM. 

The  Gryllidce  or  crickets  are,  in  the  main,  distin- 
guished from  other  Orthopterous  insects,  by  having 
the  wing  covers  flat  above  and  bent  abruptly  down- 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  223 

ward  at  the  sides ;  the  antennae  long,  slender,  and 
many  jointed  ;  the  tarsi,  or  feet,  three  jointed,  without 
pads  between  the  claws ;  the  ear  situated  on  the  tibia 
of  the  fore  leg,  and  the  abdomen  bearing  a  pair  of 
jointed  cerci  or  stylets  at  the  end. 

The  ovipositor  of  the  female,  when  present,  is  long, 
usually  spear-shaped,  and  consists,  apparently,  of  two 
pieces.  Each  of  these  halves,  however,  when  closely 
examined,  is  seen  to  be  made  up  of  two  pieces  so 
united  as  to  form  a  groove  on  the  inner  side ;. so  that 
when  the  two  halves  are  fitted  together,  a  tube  is  pro- 
duced, down  which  the  eggs  pass  to  the  repository  in 
the  earth  or  twig  fitted  to  receive  them. 

representatives  of  25  species  of  these  interesting 
insects  have  been  taken  in  Indiana,  several  of  which 
are  exceedingly  abundant  through- 
out the  State.  Among  these  are 
two  species  of  burrowing  or  u  mole 
crickets"  which  rank  first  in  size 
and  singularity  of  structure.  When 
full  grown  they  measure  from  one 
inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length  ; 
are  light  brown  in  color  and  have 

the    body   covered 
The  Mole  ]}  h      t  hai 

Crickets.  / 

giving  it  a  soft  vel- 
vety appearance.  The  females  have 
no  visible  ovipositor,  and,  exter- 
nally, may  be  separated  from  the 
males  only  by  the  difference  in  the 
veining  of  the  uppermost  of  the 
wing  covers.  By  their  habit  of  bur-  Fig-  •54~Mole  Cricket' 


224  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

rowing  beneath  the  soil  in  search  of  such  food  as  the 
tender  roots  of  plants,  earth-worms  and  the  larvae  of 
various  insects,  the  anterior  tibise  of  these  crickets 
have,  in  the  course  of  ages,  become  so  modified  in 
structure  as  to  closely  resemble  the  front  feet  of  the 
common  mole,  whence  the  generic  name,  GryUotalpa, 
from  "gryllus,"  a  cricket,  and  "talpa,"  a  mole.  More- 
over, the  compound  eyes  have  become  very  much 
aborted,  being  not  more  than  one-eighth  the  size  of 
those  of  the  common  field  cricket,  Gryllus  abbreviatus 
Serv. ;  and,  as  the  insect  crawls  rather  than  leaps,  the 
hind  femora  are  but  little  enlarged. 

The  mole  crickets  are  found  in  all  parts  of  Indiana, 
though  nowhere  in  great  abundance.  Their  eggs  are 
laid  in  under-ground  chambers  in  masses  of  from  forty 
to  sixty,  and  the  young  are  about  three  years  in  reach- 
ing maturity.  On  this  account,  where  they  exist  in 
numbers,  they  are  very  destructive,  feeding,  as  they 
do  during  that  time,  mainly  upon  the  tender  roots  of 
various  plants.  It  is  therefore  fortunate  that  with  us 
these  crickets  are  not  more  common  than  they  are. 
In. the  moist  mud  and  sand  along  the  margins  of  the 
smaller  streams  and  ponds  their  runs  or  burrows, 
exactly  like  those  of  a  mole,  though  much  smaller,  can 
in  late  summer  and  early  autumn  be  seen  by  those 
interested  enough  to  search  for  them.  These  runs 
usually  end  beneath  a  stone  or  small  stick,  but  the 
insects  are  very  seldom  seen,  as  they  are  nocturnal, 
forming  their  burrows  by  night,  and  scarcely  ever 
emerging  from  beneath  the  ground. 

The  note  of  the  male  is  a  sharp  di-syllabic  chirp, 
continuously  repeated  and  loud  enough  to  be  heard 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIE  KIN.  225 

several  rods  away.  It  is  usually  attributed,  by  those 
who  have  given  little  attention  to  insect  sounds,  to 
the  field  crickets  or  to  some  of  the  smaller  frogs. 
They  are  very  difficult  to  locate  by  this  note,  and  I 
have  on  several  occasions  approached  cautiously  on 
hands  and  knees,  a  certain  spot  and  have  remained 
silent  for  some  minutes  while  the  chirping  went  on, 
apparently  beneath  my  very  eyes ;  yet  when  the  sup- 
posed exact  position  of  the  chirper  was  determined 
and  a  quick  movement  was  made  to  unearth  him  he 
could  not  be  found.  Indeed,  it  is  only  by  chance,  as 
by  the  sudden  turning  over  of  a  log  in  a  soft,  mucky 
place  that  a  person  can  happen  upon  one  of  them 
unawares.  Even  then  quick  movement  is  necessary 
to  capture  him  before  he  scrambles  into  the  open 
mouth  of  one  of  the  deep  burrows  which  he  has  ever 
in  readiness. 

Probably  the  best  known  crickets  in  the  State  are 
the  "field  crickets" — those  dark-colored,  thick-bodied 
species,  mat  are  specimens  of  which  are  so  abundant 
from  late  summer  until  after  heavy  frosts,  beneath 
logs,  boards,  stones,  and  especially  beneath  rails  in  the 
corners  of  the  old-fashioned  and  rapidly  disappearing 

rail  fences.     The  eggs  of  some  of  the 
®  k'f  *        field  crickets  are  laid  in  the  ground  in 

late  autumn  and  hatch  the  following 
May.  Those  of  at  least  two  species  are,  however,  laid 
in  late  summer  or  early  autumn,  and  hatch  before 
frost,  the  half  grown  young  being  found  in  numbers 
throughout  the  winter  beneath  logs  and  chunks.  On 
cold  days  they  are  usually  found  in  a  dormant  con- 
dition, each  one  at  the  bottom  of  a  cone-shaped  cavity 

15 


226  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

which  it  has  formed  for  itself,  a-nd  which  is  very  sim- 
ilar to  the  pit  made  in  loose  sand  by  the  larva  of  the 
ant  lion,  Myrmeleon  obsoletus  Say. 

The  most  common  of  the  five  species  occurring  with 
us  is  the  short-winged  field  cricket,  Gryllus  abbrevia- 
tes Serv.,  which  is  nocturnal,  omnivorous,  and  a  can- 
nibal. Avoiding  the  light  of  day  he  ventures  forth,  as 

soon  as  darkness  has 
fallen,  in  search  of  food, 
and  all  appears  to  be  fish 
which  comes  to  his  net, 
Of  fruit,  vegetables,  grass 

rig.  55— Field  Cricket.   "          and    carrion    he    seems 
equally  fond,  and  does  not 

hesitate  to  prey  upon  a  weaker  brother  when  oppor- 
tunity offers.  I  have  often  surprised  them  feasting 
upon  the  bodies  of  their  companions,  and  of  about 
forty  imprisoned  together  in  a  box,  at  the  end  of  a 
week  but  six  were  living.  The  heads,  wings  and 
legs  of  their  dead  companions  were  all  that  remained 
to  show  that  the  weaker  had  succumbed  to  the 
stronger ;  that  the  fittest,  and  in  this  case  the  fattest, 
had  survived  in  the  deadly  struggle  for  existence. 

Of  all  the   Gryllidce  which  occur  in  the  Northern 
States,  the  little  brown  "ground  crickets"  are  the  most 
numerous  and  the  most  social.     Unlike  their  larger 
cousins,  the  field  crickets,  they  do  not 
Crickets      '  wa^  ^or  darkness  before  seeking  their 
food ;  but  wherever  the  grass  has  been 
cropped  short,  whether  on  shaded  hillside  or  in  the 
full  glare  of  the  noonday  sun  along  the  beaten  road- 
way, mature   specimens   may  be   seen    by  hundreds 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  227 

during  the  days  of  early  autumn.  They  are  all  of 
small  size,  being  seldom  more  than  half  an  inch  in 
length.  The  color  is  a  dark  brown,  and  the  bodies 
and  legs  are  sparsely  clothed  with  brown  hairs. 

These  crickets  are  omnivorous,  "feeding  upon  all 
kinds  of  decaying  animal  matter  as 
well  as  upon  living  vegetation. 
When  disturbed  they  are  very  diffi- 
cult to  capture,  making  enormous 
leaps  with  their  stout  hind  legs,  no 
sooner  striking  the  ground  than 
they  are  up  and  away  again,  even 
if  not  pursued,  until  they  find  a 
leaf  or  other  shelter  beneath  which 
to  take  refuge.  Six  species  occur 
in  Indiana  and  from  their  enormous 
numbers,  as  well  as  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  constant,  greedy  feed- 
ers from  the  time  the  eggs  hatch  in 
the  spring  until  laid  low  by  the  Fig  ^Ground CriTket. 
hoar  frost  of  autumn,  it  follows  that  Nemobius  fasdatu*  vit- 

fatus  Harris. 

they   must   be   classed  among   our     (Female  tvvice  natural 
most   injurious    Orthoptera,  but  as      6ize-  After  Lugg«r-J 
yet  no  effective  means  for  their  destruction  has  been 
discovered. 

Among  the  crickets  occurring  in  Indiana  is  a  short, 
thick-bodied  brown  form,  Apithes  agitator  Uhler.  It 
has  been  taken  in  several  of  the  south-western  coun- 
ties, notably  in  Vigo,  where  the  first  ones  discovered 
were  on  the  slender  twigs  of  some  prickly-ash  shrubs 
which  grew  in  a  damp  upland  woods.  The  place  was 
visited  a  number  of  times  and  the  crickets  were  always 


228  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

found,  perfectly  motionless,  and  immediately  above  or 
below  one  of  the  thorns  or  prickles  jutting  forth  from 
the  twigs.  The  tips  of  the  hind  femora  were  raised 
so  as  to  project  above  the  body,  thus  causing  them  to 
resemble  the  thorns ;  and  the  color  of  the  insects, 
corresponding  closely  with  that  of  the  bark,  made 
them  very  difficult  to  discover  even  when  in  especial 
search  of  them.  On  every  clump  of  prickly-ash  in 
the  woods  mentioned  a  number  of  specimens  were 
secured  but  they  could  be  found  nowhere  else  there- 
abouts. On  another  occasion  they  were  discovered 
about  the  roots  of  a  scarlet  oak,  Quercus  coccinea 
Wang,  which  grew  on  a  sandy  hillside.  Here  they 
were  plentiful,  and  resting  motionless  in  the  depres- 
sions of  the  bark  or  beneath  the  leaves  in  the  cavities 
formed  by  the  roots  of  the  tree. 

Of  all  the  males  taken  in  both  places,  over  thirty  in 
number,  there  was  not  one  with  perfect  wing  covers, 
and,  in  almost  every  instance,  the  wing  covers  as  well 
as  the  rudimentary  wings  were  wholly  absent ;  while 
every  female  had  both  pairs  unharmed.  I  at  first 
ascribed  this  wing  mutilation  to  the  males  fighting 
among  themselves,  but  finally  discovered  a  female  in 
the  act  of  devouring  the  wings  of  a  male.  Whyjthis 
curious  habit  on  the  part  of  the  one  sex  ?  Possibly 
the  females  require  a  wing  diet  to  requite  them  for 
their  bestowed  affections,  or,  perchance,  they  are  a 
jealous  set,  and,  having  once  gained  the  affections  of 
a  male,  devour  his  wing  covers  to  keep  him  from  call- 
ing other  females  about  him. 

The  tree  crickets  may  be  known  from  others  of 
their  kin  by  their  slender  hind  legs,  their  narrow, 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN. 


229 


The  Tree 
Crickets. 


elongated  chest  or  pro-thorax,  and  their  whitish  or 
greenish-white  color.  The  wing  covers  of  the  females 
are  wrapped  closely  about  the  body, 
while  those  of  the  male  are  much 
firmer  in  texture,  broadly  spread  out, 
and  very  transparent;  causing  such  a  difference  of 
appearance  between  the  two  sexes  that  tyro  collec- 
tors often  take  them  for  widely 
different  insects.  Of  the  six 
species  known  to  occur  in  In- 
diana the  snowy  tree  cricket, 
CEcanthus  niveus  DeGeer,  is  the 
most  common  and  the  best 
known.  Both  sexes  of  this 
species  are  in  color  ivory  white, 
more  or  less  tinged  with  a  del-  Fig. 57-Snowy  Tree  Crickets, 
icate  green,  especially  in  the  (Male  and  female-) 

female.  The  top  of  the  head  and  basal  joint  of  an- 
tennee  are  usually  suffused  with  ochre  yellow,  while 
on  the  lower  face  of  each  of  the  two  basal  joints  of 
the  antennae  is  a  small  black  spot.  The  ovipositor 
of  the  female  is  short,  perfectly  straight  and  usually 
tipped  with  black. 

The  snowy  tree  cricket  is  very  common  throughout 
the  State,  and  mature  specimens  are  to  be  found  in 
numbers  about  grape  vines,  shrubbery,  etc.,  from 
August  1st  until  November.  The  females  appear 
more  plentiful  than  the  males,  the  latter  being  more 
often  heard  than  seen.  During  the  day  they  keep 
themselves  hidden  among  the  foliage  and  flowers  of 
various  plants,  but  as  night  approaches  they  come 
forth  and  the  male  begins  his  incessant,  shrill,  chirp- 


230 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


ing  note — the  well  known  t-r-r — r-e-e;  t-r-r — r-e-e, 
repeated  without  pause  or  variation  about  seventy 
times  a  minute. 

The  females  of  the  snowy  cricket  do  much  harm 
by  ovipositing  in  the  tender  canes  or  shoots  of  various 
plants,  as  the  raspberry,  grape,  plum,  peach,  etc. ;  no 
less  than  321  eggs,  by  actual  count,  having  been  found 
in  a  raspberry  cane  22  inches  in  length.  The  eggs 
are  laid  in  autumn  and  at  first  the  injury  is  shown 
only  by  a  slight  roughness  of  the 
bark,  but  afterwards  the  cane  or 
branch  frequently  dies  above 
the  puncture,  or  is  so  much  in- 
jured as  to  be  broken  off  by  the 
first  high  wind.  If  the  injured 
and  broken  canes  containing  the 
eggs  be  collected  and  burned  in 
early  spring  the  number  of  in- 
sects for  that  season  will  be  ma- 
terially lessened. 

This  injurious  habit  is  partly, 
if  not  wholly,  offset  by  the  car- 
nivorous habits  of  the  crickets, 
as  the  young,  which  are  hatched 
in  June,  feed  for  some  time 
upon  the  various  species  of 
aphides  or  plant  lice  which  in- 
Fig.  M-te.  of  Tree  Cricket  fest  the  "hrubbeiy  they  frequent 

in  raspberry  cane.  Miss     Mary      E.     Murtfeldt,      OI 

KirkwOOd.     Mo.,     has     ffiveil     ail 

interesting  account  of  some  ex- 
periments   and   observations   concerning   this   habit, 


o,  Cane,  showing  puncture;  b, 
cane  split  to  show  eggs;  c,  egg 
enlarged. 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  231 

from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken  :  "  Some 
leaves  of  plum  infested  with  a  delicate  species  of  yel- 
low aphis  were  put  into  a  jar  with  the  young  of 
(Ecanthus  nieeus,  but  attracted  no  immediate  atten- 
tion. As  twilight  deepened,  however,  the  crickets 
awakened  to  greater  activity .  By  holding  the  jar 
against  the  light  of  the  window,  or  bringing  it 
suddenly  into  the  lamp  light,  the  ^ittle  nocturnal 
hunters  might  be  seen  hurrying  with  a  furtive, 
darting  movement  over  the  leaves  and  stems,  the 
head  bent  down,  the  antennae  stretched  forward, 
and  .every  sense  apparently  on  the  alert.  Then  the 
aphides  provided  for  their  food  would  be  caught  up 
one  after  another  with  eagerness  and  devoured  with 
violent  action  of  the  mouth  parts,  the  antennae  mean- 
while playing  up  and  down  in  evident  expression  of 
satisfaction.  Unless  I  had  provided  very  liberally  not 
an  aphis  would  be  found  in  the  jar  the  next  morning, 
and  the  sluggish  crickets  would  have  every  appear- 
ance of  plethora." , 

ACRIDID^E. 

The  common  things  about  us,  those  which  we  meet 
in  our  every-day  life,  are  usually  those  of  which  we 
know  the  least.  Everybody  knows  a  grasshopper  by 
sight.  How  many  can  describe  the  salient  points  in 
its  life  history,  can  tell  of  the  many  devices  which  it 
uses  to  avoid  its  enemies,  or  of  the  many  ways  in 
which  its  organs  have  become  adapted  to  or  fitted  for 
the  life  it  leads  ?  Yet  any  one  interested  in  the  objects 
of  nature  can  soon  learn  these  and  other  similar  facts 


232  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATUItfi. 

for  himself  by  a  little  patient,  personal  investiga- 
tion. 

To  the  people  of  ancient  times  the  "grasshopper" 
of  to-day  was  the  "locust,"  one  of  the  seven  plagues 
of  Egypt.  The  scientific  men  of  this  country  have 
long  endeavored  to  have  them  called  "  locusts"  in  the 
United  States,  but  the  majority  of  people  persist  in 
calling  them  '^grasshoppers,"  and  give  the  name 
"locust"  to  those  noisy  insects  which  once  every  sev- 
enteen years  invade  our  fields  and  forests  in  such 
countless  numbers.  To  my  mind  "grasshopper"  is 
the  better  and  more  expressive  name  for  the  insect 
with  which  we  have  to  deal,  and,  though  "  locust"  has 
the  priority,  as  the  wise  men  say,  yet  we  shall  relegate 
it  to  the  shades  of  the  past  and  know  our  subject  by 
its  most  common  title. 

To  the  average  observer  a  grasshopper  is  a  grass- 
hopper, nothing  more — like 

"  The  primrose  on  the  river's  brim  " 

was  to  Peter  Bell.  But  to  the  naturalist,  or  to  any 
person  who  will  keep  his  eyes  and  ears  open  as  he 
walks  about,  there  are  grasshoppers  and  grasshop- 
pers— not  individuals,  but  different  kinds,  each  with 
interesting  facts  to  be  learned  concerning  it.  Over 
520  species  inhabit  the  United  States,  51  of  which  have 
been  taken  by  myself  within  the  limits  of  Indiana. 

Most  of  these  pass  the  winter  in  the  egg  stage,  the 
eggs,  in  early  autumn,  being  deposited  in  the  earth 
by  the  mother  insect  in  compact  masses  of  forty  to 
sixty  each  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  accompanying 
cut.  About  mid- April  these  eggs  begin  to  hatch  and 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  233 

the  sprightly  little  insects,  devoid  of  wings  but  other- 
wise like  their  parents,  are  soon  seen  on  every  hand. 
Born  with  one  earthly  desire— a  voracious  appetite 
— and  with  one  valuable  possession — a  pair  of  strong, 


Fig.  59— Grasshopper  in  the  act  of  laying  eggs.    (After  Riley.^ 

broad  jaws,  which  move  in  and  out  like  the  blades  of 

a  pair  of  scissors — the  little  hopper  soon  begins  to  use 

the  latter  to  appease  the  former,  and 

Grrashomrers  ^or  twenty-f°ur  hours  a  day  and  seven 
days  in  a  week,  he  gnaws  away  at 
the  soft,  green,  succulent  grass  which  .surrounds  him 
on  every  side.  Such  a  procedure  can  have  but  one 
result.  His  body  soon  becomes  too  big  for  its  sur- 
roundings. Something  must  give  way  and  that  some- 
thing is  his  skin.  He  casts  it  aside  with  but  little 
reluctance,  however,  for  a  new  one  is  ready  to  take  its 
place,  and  immediately  begins  to  satiate  his  appetite 
once  more.  Five  successive  times  his  skin  gets  too 
small  for  his  body  and  is  cast  aside.  Between  each 


234 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


of  these  moults  the  wings  are  growing  and  when  the 
fifth  skin  is  shed  he  emerges  a  mature  and  fully  fledged 
insect. 

While  passing  through 
a  Held  on  one  September 
day,  I  observed,  clinging 
to  the  stems  of  weeds,  sev- 
eral specimens  of  what 
appeared  to  he  the  bodies 
of  grasshoppers  with  the 
wings  of  the  common  sul- 
phur-yellow butterfly  at- 
tached to  them.  Such  a 
combination  aroused  my 
curiosity,  hut  a  close  ex- 
amrtmtion  proved  them  to 
be  specimens  of  the  com- 
mon black-winged  grass- 
hopper which  had  just 
moulted  for  the  last  time 
and  spread  out  their  soft 
wings  to  dry.  The  inner 
wings,  instead  of  being 
black,  were  light  yellow, 
but  in  three  or  four  hours 
thereafter  had  changed  to 
their  usual  color.  The 

Fig. 60— Grasshopper  shedding  its  sk'in.   Cast    off   skills    Were    close 

(a,  Young  ready  to  change;  l>  and  c,  the   by  Rllfl  WQTQ  much  Smaller 
nkin  splits  along  the  back  and  the  adult      •?  ,  T  '1 

emerges;  d,  adult  drying  out;  e,  perfect  in-    tnail       tlie       lllSeCl.         JLlKe 

crayfish  they  had  shed  the 
entire  outer  skin  in  one  piece,  pulling  out  the  legs 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  235 

and  antennpe  much  as  a  person  pulls  a  foot  out  of  a 
boot. 

However,  all  grasshoppers  do  not  pass  the  winter 

in  the  egg  state.     Three  or  four  species  hatch  in  early 

autumn  and  the  young  in  various  stages  can,  in  suitable 

localities,  be  seen  jumping  vigorously 

Winter         a]jout    On    any    warm    sunny   day    in 
Grasshoppers.  .  J 

mid- winter.     If  their  presence  at  such 

a  season  comes  to  the  attention  of  a  newspaper 
reporter,  the  press  of  the  entire  State  is  apt  to  teem 
with  warnings  of  a  coming  grasshopper  plague,  of 
which  the  youngsters  are  thought  to  be  the  advance 
guard.  These  hibernating  young  are  the  first  to  reach 
maturity  the  next  spring,  usually  becoming  full  grown 
about  the  20th  of  April. 


Fig.  61 — Coral-winged  Grasshopper,  Hippiscus  tvberculatun  (Pal.  de  B.). 
(Survives  the  winter  in  young  stage  and  reaches  maturity  in  April.    After  Lugger.) 

Again,  nine  species   out  of  our  fifty-one  pass  the 

winter   as   mature   insects.     They   are    our   smallest 

grasshoppers,  all  being,  when  full   grown,  less  than 

half  an  inch  in  length ;  gray  or  blackish  in  color;  and 

with   the    hard    upper    crust    of    the 

Grasshoppers.    thorax    extending   the   full  length   of 

the    body    and    covering    the    wings. 

They  are  called  "grouse  grasshoppers,"   and  during 

cold  weather  they  hide  beneath  the  loose  bark  of  logs 


236 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


or  beneath  the  bottom  rails  of  old  fences.  On  the  first 
warm  days  of  spring  they  can  be  collected  by  hundreds 
from  any  grass-covered  hillside  having  a  sunny  south- 
ern exposure. 

A  grasshopper  has  five  eyes,  three  small  simple 
ones,  and  two  large  compound  ones.  Each  of  the 
latter  is  composed  of  many  thousand  six-sided  facets 
or  parts,  in  each  of  which  a  single  filament  of  the 
optic  nerve  ends ;  yet  it  is  claimed  that  with  all  these 


Tettix  arnatus  (Say).      Paratettix  cucnUatns  (Burm).     Tettigidea  lateralis  (Say). 
Fig.  62.— Grouse  Grasshoppers.    (After  Lugger.) 

eyes  the  insect  sees  but  poorly,  being  guided  rather 
by  the  sense  of  smell  than  by  that  of  sight.  There  is 
no  nose,  the  sense  of  smell  being  located  in  the  feelers 
or  antennae;  while  the  ears,  instead  of  being  in  the 
head,  are  on  the  basal  ring  of  the  abdomen.  Ten 
small  openings  on  each  side  of  the  body  lead  into 
tubes  which  branch  and  ramify  through  all  its 
portions.  Through  these  the  air  passes  and  comes  in 
contact  with  the  blood  vessels  which  lie  alongside  of 
the  air  tubes  in  many  parts  of  the  body. 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  237 

As  is  well  known,  the  male  of  each  species  of  grass- 
hopper has  the  power  of  making  a  peculiar  noise,  or 
"strid illation,"  as  it  is  called.     In  most  species  it  is 
made  while  on  the  ground  and  is  produced  by  rubbing 
the    inner    surface    of    the    hind    leg 

OII?S  against  the  outer  surface  of  the  front 

Grasshoppers.      »  . 

wing.      In    those   species   which   ny 

much  it  is  made  while  on  the  wing,  or  just  when 
rising  from  the  ground,  by  rubbing  together  the 
upper  surface  of  the  front  edge  of  the  hind  wings  and 
the  under  surface  of  the  front  wings.  By  paying 
close  attention  the  observer  can  soon  learn  to  distin- 
guish each  species  by  its  peculiar  note.  Only  the 
males  have  musical  organs,  which  is  quite  the  reverse 
among  some  animals  higher  in  the  scale  of  life  where 
the  females  make  most  of  the  music  and  oftentimes 
much  of  the  noise.  The  female  grasshoppers,  how- 
ever, make  up  for  their  lack  of  musical  abilities  by 
their  greater  bulk,  as  they  are  always  much  larger 
than  their  better  (?)  halves. 

Nineteen  out  of  our  fifty-one  species  seldom  use  the 
wings  in  moving  from  place  to  place,  but  leap  vigor- 
ously when  disturbed.  Among  them  are  seven  species 
of  "short  winged"  grasshoppers  whose  wings  have 
become  rudimentary  in  the  past  through  long  disuse, 
so  that  in  the  perfect  insect  of  to.-day  they  are  less 
than  half  the  length  of  the  abdomen. 

Fifteen  kinds,  the  most  common  of  which  is  the 
black-winged    or   "Carolina    grasshopper,"    use   the 
wings  almost  wholly  in  their  journeyings  and  often 
fly  long  distances  when  flushed.     Their  hind  legs  are. 
used  only  in  giving  themselves  an   upward  impetus 


238  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

from  the  ground  and  hence  are  much  smaller  propor- 
tionally than  are  those  of  the  group  of  "hoppers" 
which  leap  rather  than  fly,  while  their  wings  are 
much  longer  and  stronger.  To  this  group  of  "flyers"' 
belongs  our  largest  and  most  handsome  species, 
the  "American  grasshopper,"  Schistocerca  americana 
(Drury). 

In  the  season  of  1893  this  species  was  unusually 
common  in  Vigo  County,  from  the  fact  that  a  large 
number  of  adults  were  blown  in  by  a  high  wind  which 
prevailed  on  the  night  of  April  11.  No  mature  speci- 
mens had  ever  before  been  noted  in  that  vicinity 


Fig.  63 — American  Grasshopper. 
(Male.    After  Lugger.) 

earlier  than  the  middle  of  June,  but  on  the  morning 
after  the  storm  mentioned  hundreds  were  seen  on  the 
streets  of  Terre  Haute.  They  had  come  sailing  in  on 
the  wings  of  the  wind  from  some  distant  point  in  the 
south-west  where  they  had  passed  the  winter  in  the 
mature  state  or  as  an  advanced  form  of  the  young. 

In  Indiana  there  are  two  species  which  far  outrank 
all  others  in  numbers  and  in  the  injury  which  they  do 
to  grass  and  growing  vegetation  in  general.  The 
larger  of  these  is  the  "lubberly  grasshopper,"  Melano- 
plus  differentmlis  (Uhler),  a  clumsy,  thick-set  fellow, 
which  is  found  by  thousands  along  fence  rows  and 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  239 

the  borders  of  cultivated  fields,  especially  those  of  the 
river  bottoms,  where  they  feed  upon  the  greater  rag- 
weed or  horse-weed.  On  October  2d,  1894,  vast 
numbers  were  seen  along  the  edge  of  a  field  of  low- 


Fig.  64 — Lubberly  Grasshopper. 
(Male.    After  Lugger.) 

land  corn,  the  leaves  of  the  marginal  rows  of  which 
they  had  almost  wholly  destroyed.  When  a  stalk 
was  approached  they  did  not  desert  it  but  dodged 
quickly  around  to  the  opposite  side,  much  as  a  squir- 
rel does  around  the  trunk  of  a  tree  when  pursued. 
If,  however,  one  took  alarm  and  jumped,  all  the  others 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  did  likewise. 

The  most  common  and  most  injurious  species  found 
in  the  State  is  much  smaller  and  is  known  as  the 
"red-legged  grasshopper,"  Melanoplus  femur -rubrum 
(.DeGeer),  on  account  of  its  hind  shanks  or  tibire 
being  blood-red.  It  often  destroys  the  second  crop 
of  clover  in  many  parts  of  the  State*,  besides  doing 
much  injury  to  young  corn 
and  other  growing  crops. 

The     Kansas    or    Kocky 
Mountain  grasshopper  does 

not  occur  in  Indiana.     Con- 
Fig.  65— Red-legged  Grasshopper. 

trary  to  the  general  belief  (Male.) 


240  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

it  is  not  a  large,  robust  species,  being  but  about  the 

same  size  as  our  red-legged  grasshop- 
The  Kansas  ^  •,        •  , ,  *~   ,    ,  , 

Qrassho     er      Per'  a        "^anng  to  the  latter  a  close 
general  resemblance;  so  close  in  fact 
that  only  specialists  can  readily  tell  them  apart. 

Millions  of  dollars  of  damage  was  done  in  the 
Western  States  by  these  small  insects  in  the  summers 
of  1873  and  1875.  Migrating  in  vast  clouds  from  one 
part  of  the  country  to  another  they  would  fall  upon  a 

cornfield  and  convert,  in  a 
few   hours,   the    green    and 
promising  acres  into  a  de- 
solate  Stretch    of  bare,  Spill- 
Fig.  66— Kansas  Grasshopper. 
Melanoplu8Spretu8(Hhler).  dllllg   Stalks    and    StUDS.       Ill 

(Male.)  the  words   of   the    prophet 

Joel:  "The  land  was  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before 
them,  and  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness ;  yea, 
and  nothing  did  escape  them." 

The  sound  caused  by  their  approach  or  flight  was 
almost  deafening,  and  has  been  graphically  described 
as  follows : 

"Onward  they  came,  a  dark  continuous  cloud 

Of  congregated  myriads  numberless, 
The  rustling  of  whose  wings  was  as  the  sound 

Of  a  broad  river  headlong  in  its  course 
Plunged  from  a  mountain  summit,  or  the  roar 

Of  a  wild  ocean  in  the  autumn  storm, 
Shattering  its  billows  on  a  shore  of  rock." 

Each  kind  of  grasshopper  has  its  favorite  resort 
where  it  is  to  be  fou'nd  in  greatest  abundance,  although 
some  of  them  are  common  enough  anywhere.  For 
example,  there  are  three  or  four  species  of  pea-green 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN.  241 

grasshoppers  which  are  found  only  among  the  dense 
green  grasses  and  sedges  along  the  margins  of  ponds 
and  lowland  streams.  There,  as  long  • 
as  motionless,  they  are  invisible,  and 
there  they  flourish  in  peace  and 
countless  numbers. 

The  Kentucky  blue-grass  and  the 
different  kinds  of  meadow  grasses 
are  a  darker  green,  and,  where  rank, 
turn  brown  early  in  the  autumn. 
The  different  species  of  "short- 
winged"  grasshoppers,  and  many 
others  whose  hues  are  olive  green  or 
brown,  find  in  the  fallen  dumps  of 
these  grasses  places  of  hiding  well 
suiting  their  color  as  well  as  an 
abundance  of  food  well  suiting  their 
taste. 

At  the  Goose  Pond,  nine  miles  be-  Fig.67^-A  Pea-green 
low  Terre  Haute,  occurs  a  species  of     _.  Grasshopper. 

'  Vicromorpha  v^r^a^8 

grasshopper,  Leptysma  marginicollis  .  (Scudder). 
(Serv.),  which  has  never  been  re-  (After  Lug**.) 
corded  elsewhere  north  of  Florida.  Its  occurrence  in 
Indiana  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  presence  of 
the  broad  and  sheltering  valley  of  the  Wftbash  within 
the  confines  of  which  it  finds  a  climate  and  a  vegetation 
congenial  to  its  wants.  If  its  habits  be  the  same  else- 
where as  in  Indiana,  the  name  "  grasshopper  "  is  for  it 
a  misnomer,  for  here  it  is  never  seen  on  the  grass  or 
ground,  and  never  hops  when  disturbed,  but  moves 
with  a  quick  and  noiseless  flight  for  twenty  or  more 
feet  to  a  cylindrical  stem  of  sedge  or  rush  on  which 
16 


242  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

it  alights.  The  instant  it  grasps  the  stem  it  dodges 
quickly  around  to  the  side  opposite  the  intruder. 
Then,  holding  the  stem  firmly  with  its  short  front  and 
middle  legs,  it  draws  its  slender  hind  legs  close  up 
against  the  body  and  hugging  its  support  as  closely 
as  possible,  remains  perfectly  motionless.  Its  body  is 
almost  cylindrical,  and  being  of  the  same  general 

color  as  the  stalk  of 
the  plant  on  which 
it  rests,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  detect 

Fig.  68-Florida  Grasshopper.  ^  ^^  Qne  geeg  ex_ 

actly  where  it  alights.  Eight  times  out  of  ten  a  per- 
son, by  approaching  quietly,  can  reach  his  hand  about 
the  plant  stem  and  grasp  the  insect.  Its  habits  excel- 
lently illustrate  the  so-called  "  protective  mimicry " 
of  form  and  coloring,  as  it  always  seems  to  choose  a 
cylindrical  object,  and  one  similar  to  its  own  color, 
before  alighting. 

Let  us  now  briefly  notice  the  habits  of  our  ash- 
brown,  black-winged  friend,  the  "  Carolina  grasshop- 
per." To  the  casual  observer  he  appears  to  be  our 
most  common  species  but  there  are  a  dozen  which 
are  more  abundant.  His  numbers  appear  multiplied 
because  he  frequents  the  highways  and  byways  of 
man  rather  than  the  pastures  and  meadows  where 
other  grasshoppers  are  wont  to  congregate.  More- 
over, when  disturbed,  he  more  often  betakes  himself 
to  the  bare  earth  than  to  the  green  grass.  "  Why  this 
absurd  taste?" — asks  the  person  uninitiated  in  the 
doings  of  nature's  objects.  For  the  simple  reason 
that  the  dust  of  the  roadside  and  the  gravel  ballast  of 


KATYDIDS  AND  THEIR  KIN. 


243 


the  railway  correspond  so  closely  with  the  color  of 
his  back  that  his  best  friends  and  worst  enemies  will 
overlook  him  if  he  will  only  remain  quiet.  Yea,  even 
that  sharp-eyed 
connoisseur  of 
grasshopper  tid- 
bits, the  turkey 
gobbler,  often- 
times walks  right 
over  him  mistak- 
ing him  for  a  way- 
side pebble. 

Thus,  by  choos- 
ing their  resorts 
to  suit  their  col- 
ors, or  rather,  in 
the  course  of  ages, 
changing  their 
colors  to  suit  their 
environments, 
grasshoppers  have 
been  enabled  each 
year  to  wax,  grow  fat,  and  replenish  the  earth  with 
their  progeny,  at  the  same  tini£  deplenishing  it  by 
reason  of  their  enormous  numbers  and  their  insatia- 
ble appetites. 

In  the  latitude  of  central  Indiana,  the  heyday  of 
the  mature  grasshopper's  life  lies  between  the  dates 
of  mid- August  and  mid-October.  Then  it  is  that  their 
love  calls  are  the  most  numerous ;  that  their  ambitions 
in  life  are  satisfied,  and  that  the  eggs,  destined  to 
carry  the  race  through  the  rigors  of  an  approaching 


Fig.  69— Carolina  Grasshopper. 

Dissosteira  Carolina  (L.)« 

(After  Lugger.) 


244 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


winter,  are  deposited  in  the  earth.  As  the  cooler 
days  of  November  draw  nigh  their  ranks  grow  rapidly 
less,  and  yet,  with  the  exception  of  one  place,  their 
dead  bodies  are  seldom  met  with.  That  exception  is 
the  top  of  tall  weeds,  where,  oftentimes  even  so  early 

as  September,  the  bodies  of 
the  more  common  species 
are  seen,  their  limbs  tightly 
clasping  the  branches  or 
leaves  of  the  plant  on  which 
they  rest.  Why  this  position 
is  taken  by  them  before 
death  I  can  not  say.  Of 
course  it  is  nonsense,  but  I 
have  often  asked  myself  the 
question :  Is  it  assuming 
too  much  of  them  to  sup- 
pose that,  having  lived  their 
allotted  time,  or  being  preyed 
upon  by  some  invisible  but 
insidious  animal  or  plant 
parasite,  and  feeling  their 
death  throes  coming  on,  they 
choose  to  fly  or  climb  to  the 
most  elevated  position  available,  there  to  take  a  fare- 
well view  of  their  summer's  home  ? 


Fig.  70— Two-striped  Grasshopper. 
Alelanoplua  bivittatus  (Say) . 
(Killed  by  a  fungus.    After 
Lugger.) 


WEEDS  IN  GENERAL  AND  OUR  WORST 
WEEDS  IN  PARTICULAR. 


What  is  a  weed  ?  How  does  it  differ  from  a  wild 
flower?  These  questions  are  often  asked  by  persons 
who  are  beginning  the  study  of  botany ;  and  pupils 
have  been  known  to  put  aside  a  specimen  with  a  look 
of  disgust,  saying  at  the  same  time  that  they  "  did 
not  want  to  study  that  nasty  weed." 

There  is,  of  course,  no  difference,  botanically  speak- 
ing, between  a  weed  and  a  wild  flower,  save  that  of 
comparative  abundance.  Some  of  our  most  common 
weeds  are  among  the  most  handsome  of  our  wild 
flowers ;  for  example,  the  iron-weed,  thistle  and  ox- 
eye  daisy.  They  well  illustrate  the' truth  of  that  old 
saying  that  "familiarity  breeds  contempt,"  for  we 
have  become  so  familiar  with  their  appearance  that 
we  daily  pass  them  by  unnoticed.  Were  they  as  rare 
as  the  showy  orchis  and  wild  columbine  they  would 
no  longer  be  called  "  weeds,"  but  "  wild  flowers,"  and 
would,  perhaps,  be  cultivated  for  ornament;  just  as 
among  half  the  collections  of  house  plants  in  Indiana 
are  found  species  of  cacti  which  are  by  no  means 
rarities  to  the  natives  of  Texas  and  New  Mexico. 

A  weed  has  been  defined  as  "merely  a  plant  in  the 
wrong  place,"  but  Grant  Allen,  a  noted  English  bot- 
anist, in  speaking  of  this  definition  says  that  it  is  far 

(245) 


246  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

more  than  that,  and  that  the  term  "weed"  implies 
something  further  than  mere  abstract  hostility  to  the 
agricultural  interest ;  it  "  implies  a  certain  ingrained 
coarseness,  scrubbinees,  squalor  and  sordidness,  besides 
connoting,  in  nine  times  out  of  ten,  some  stringiness 
of  fibre,  hairiness  of  surface,  or  prickly  defensive 
character  as  well."  Of  most  weeds  this  is  true,  but  it 
is  the  possession  of  just  such  characters  that  has 
enabled  them  to  succeed  so  well  in  crowding  out  and 
displacing  other  wild  and  cultivated  plants  which, 
perhaps,  were  in  the  right  place,  and  in  taking,  if 
unmolested,  entire  possession  of  the  soil. 

Weeds  are,  of  course,  among  the  worst  enemies 
with  which  the  farmers  and  market  gardeners  have 
to  deal,  and  the  questions  of  eradication,  quarantine, 
and  the  like  are  becoming  each  year  of  greater  state 
and  national  importance. 

Each  locality,  and  each  farm  for  that  matter,  has 
its  worst  weed,  the  species  depending  upon  climate, 
soil,  method  of  cultivation,  etc.  Indeed  there  is  no 
spot  on  earth,  unless  it  be  a  desert,  where  they  do  not 
abound.  A  few  years  ago  Mr.  Byron  D.  Halstead 
asked,  through  the  Botanical  Gazette  and  other  peri- 
odicals, that  a  list  of  the  20  worst  weeds,  in  the  order 
of  their  injuriousness,  in  any  locality  or  territory  in 
the  United  States,  be  sent  to  him.  He  tabulated  the 
reports  which  he  received  from  a'll  parts  of  the  coun- 
try and  found  that  34  species  had  been  mentioned  at 
least  five  times  in  the  lists.  Of  these  34,  no  less  than 
32  are  known  to  occur  in  Indiana,  though  some  of 
them  only  in  a  few  localities  of  the  State.  Taking 
from  the  list  of  34  the  20  species  which  were  consid- 


WEEDS.  247 

ered  the  most  injurious,  all  of  them  are  represented 
in  Indiana;  although  the  order  of  injuriousness  here, 
is,  in  my  opinion,  not  the  same  as  that  given  in  Mr. 
Halstead's  list. 

The  Canada  thistle  and  couch  or  quick  grass,  which 
are  ranked  first  and  second  in  his  list,  are,  as  yet, 
found  only  in  restricted  areas  in  northern  Indiana. 
The  common  names  of  the  remaining  18  species  of 
the  list  in  the  order  given  are  as  follows  :  Cocklebur, 
bur-grass,  crab  or  finger  grass,  rag-weed,  field  sorrel, 
pig-weed,  horse- weed  or  great  rag-weed,  fox-tail, 
lamb's-quarters,  ox-eye  daisy,  purslane,  curled  dock, 
barn-yard  grass,  bind-weed,  shepherd's  purse,  com- 
mon thistle,  burdock  and  jimson. 

Each  of  these  weeds  has  its  favorite  locality  of 
growth ;"  for  instance,  the  great  rag- weed,  cocklebur 
and  bind-weed  are  found  almost  exclusively  in  the 
rich  alluvial  soil  of  the  bottoms;  burdock  and  jim- 
son-weed  in  waste  grounds  about  stables  and  old 
dwellings ;  rag- weed  and  foxtail  in  cultivated  upland 
soil ;  bur-grass  along  the  sandy  banks 'of  streams,  and 
so  on  through  the  list. 

To  the  botanist,  one  of  the  most  interesting  points 
in  connection  with  these  20  weeds  is  the  fact  that  15 
of  them  are  introduced  or  foreign  plants  which  have 
become  naturalized  from  Europe  or  Asia;  the  two 
rag-weeds,  bind-weed,  bur-grass  and  couch-grass  com- 
prising the  five  American  or  native  species.  Indeed, 
America  seems  to  be  not  only  the  "  home  for  the 
oppressed  of  all  nations,"  but  her  soil  seems  to  suit 
exactly  those  weeds  which  are  the  off-scourings  and 
refuse  of  civilization  in  all  countries.  Grant  Allen 


248  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

expresses  it  well  when  he  says  that  in  "  civilized,  cul- 
tivated, and  inhabited  New  England,  and  as  far  inland 
at  least  as  the  Mississippi,  the  prevailing  vegetation 
is  the  vegetation  of  central  Europe,  and  that  at  its 
weediest.  The  daisy,  the  primrose,  the  cowslip  and 
the  daffodil  have  stayed  at  home ;  the  weeds  have 
gone  to  colonize  the  New  World.  For  thistles  and 
burdock,  dog-fennel  and  dead-nettle,  hound's-tongue 
and  stick-seed,  catnip  and  dandelion,  ox-eye  daisy 
and  cocklebur,  America  easily  licks  all  creation.  All 
the  dusty,  noisome,  and  malodorous  pests  of  all  the 
world  seem  there  to  revel  in  one  grand,  congenial, 
democratic  orgy." 

Of  the  plants  described  in  Gray's  "  Manual  of  Bot- 
any," as  growing  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  of 
North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  293  are  introduced 
species,  27  of  which  are  natives  of  tropical  America, 
the  remaining  266  having  found  their  way  here  from 
Europe;  while  342  other  species  are  common  to  the 
north-eastern  United  States  and  Europe.  Thus  an 
American  botanist  crossing  the  Atlantic  could  find, 
growing  indigenously  in  Europe,  no  less  than  608 
species  of  plants  which  he  was  accustomed  to  see  at 
home  and  they  among  the  most  common  ones  found 
here.  '$  • 

An  interesting  history  of  the  numerous  ways  in 
which  the  Old  World  weeds  have  been  introduced  into 
this  country  could,  no  doubt,  be  written  if  one  had  all 
the  facts.  One  instance  of  how  a  single  species  found 
its  way  from  Germany  to  this  State  will  serve  as  a 
type  of  the  method  of  introduction.  While  a  student 
at  Indiana  University,  I  was  engaged  for  a  time  in 


WEEDS.  249 

working  up  the  flora  of  Monroe  County,  and  one  day 
happened  upon  a  strange  species  of  the  Composite,  or 
sunflower  family  of  plants,  growing  in  the  new  college 
campus.  It  proved  a  puzzler,  and  after  spending  the 
better  part  of  my  spare  time  for  two  days  in  endeavor- 
ing to  find  its  name,  a  specimen  was  sent  to  Professor 
Dudley,  the  botanist  at  Cornell  University,  for  identifi- 
cation. He,  having  traveled  in  Europe,  immediately 
recognized  it  as  a  pernicious  weed  common  on  the 
continent,  but  not  before  reported  from  any  part  of 
the  United  States.  The  next  question  was,  how  had 
it  found  its  way  into  that  remote  corner  of  Indiana? 
It  was  easily  answered.  A  new  supply  of  glassware 
for  the  chemical  department  of  the  University  had, 
the  fall  before,  been  purchased  in  Germany,  and  the 
straw  in  which  it  had  been  packed  was  thrown  on  the 
ground  and  left  'for  a  day  or  two  on  the  very  spot 
where  the  plant  had  afterwards  appeared.  The  threa 
specimens  which  sprang  up  were  destroyed  before 
maturing  their  seeds  and  the  spread  of  the  weed 
throughout  the  country  was  thereby  prevented. 

But  all  the  weeds  introduced  into  this  State  in 
recent  years  are  not  foreigners  or  descendants  of  for- 
eigners. The  supply  of  new  species  from  Europe  is 
about  exhausted,  and  the  great  plains  of  the  west  and 
southwest,  admirably  adapted  by  nature  for  the  evo- 
lution of  weeds  of  cultivation,  are  rapidly  sending 
eastward  their  own  rich  contingent  to  compete  with 
the  trans- Atlantic  types  for  the  mastery  of  our  soil. 
Twenty  years  ago  there  started  eastward  from  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  bristly  cone-flower 
and  the  fetid  marigold,  two  members  of  the  great 


250  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

Composite  order.  To-day  they  have  a  foothold  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  along  every  roadside  and  in  every 
meadow  suitable  to  their  growth.  Two  specimens 
of  Texan  nettle  (Solanum  rostratum  Dunal)  were 
recently  found  in  a  field  north  of  the  city  of  Terre 
Haute.  This  plant  is  given  in  Prof.  Halstead's  list  as 
one  of  the  34  worst  weeds  in  the  United  States.  Its 
habitat,  or  usual  range,  is  given  in  the  botanies  as 
"  Plains  of  Nebraska  to  Texas,"  but  it  is  rapidly  mov- 
ing northward  and  eastward,  and  unless  checked  in 
its  course  will,  soon  bring  dismay  to  thousands  of 
farmers  who  know  nothing  of  its  pernicious  habits. ' 

These  plants  in  their  eastward  migration  are  well 
up  to  the  spirit  of  the  times.  They  travel  by  railway. 
The  seeds  are  carried  either  in  the  coats  of  cattle  or 
sheep  or  in  the  food  which  supports  them  on  their 
journey.  Our  great  railways  run  east  and  west  and 
the  bared  soil  alongside  the  tracks  furnishes  excellent 
seed  beds,  where,  if  dropped,  the  seed  may  sprout  and 
the  plant  grow  unmolested,  until  it  gets  a  chance  to 
take  another  step  in  advance.  The  botanist  has 
learned  their  ways  of  migration  and  knows  that  if  he 
wishes  to  find  strange  species  his  best  pathway  will 
be  alongside  the  railways. 

Taking  the  term  "weed"  in  the  sense  of  useless 
plants  growing  wild  in  cultivated  grounds,  pastures 
and  meadows,  of  sufficient  size  to  be  easily  noticeable, 
and  of  sufficient  abundance  to  be  injurious  to  the 
farmer,  91  species  were  found  by  myself  in  Vigo 
County  and  as  many  may  be  found  in  almost  any 
county  in^the  State.  Of  these,  according  to  Gray,  33 
are  of  European  origin;  eight  are  from  tropical 


WEEDS.  251 

America ;  two  from  Asia ;  the  remaining  48,  natives 
of  the  United  States. 

In  my  opinion  the  following  list  comprises  the  20 
worst  species  of  weeds  growing  in  Indiana,  and  named 
in  the  order  of  their  injuriousness.  Both  common 
and  scientific  names  are  given,  together  with  the 
original  home  of  each  species : 

1.  Rag- weed,  Ambrosia  artemiscefolia  L.—  United  States. 

2.  Foxtail,  Setaria  glauca  Beauv. — Europe. 

3.  Iron-weed,  Vernonm  fasciculata  Michx. — United  States. 

4.  Great  Rag-weed,  Ambrosia  trifida  L. — United  States. 

5.  Pig-weed,  Amarantus  retroflexus  L. — Tropical  America. 

6.  Horse- weed,  Erigeron  canadense  L. —  United  States. 

7.  Cocklebur,  Xanthium  canadense  Mill. — United  States. 

8.  White-top,  Erigeron  animus  L. — United  States. 

9.  Lamb's-quarters,  Chenopodium  album  L. — Europe. 

10.  Common  Thistle,  Cnicus  lanceolatus  Hoffrn. — Europe. 

11.  Field  Sorrel,  Eumex  acetosella  L.— Europe. 

12.  Purslane,  Portul.aca  oleracea  L. — Europe. 

13.  Bur-grass,  Cenchrus  tnbuloides  L. — United  States. 

14.  Beggar's  Ticks,  Bidens  frondosa  L. — United  States. 

15.  Prickly  Lettuce,  Lactuca  scariola  L.— Europe. 

16.  Crab-grass,  Panicum  sanguinale  L. — Europe. 

17.  Jimson-weed,  Datura  stramonium  L. — Asia. 

18.  Smart-weed,  Polygonum  persicaria  L. — Europe. 

19.  Bracted  Bindweed,  Convolvulus  sepium  L. — United  States. 

20.  Corn  Cockle,  Lychnis  githayo  L. — Europe. 

Of  these  it  will  be  seen  that  nine  are  native ;  nine 
are  from  Europe ;  one  from  tropical  America,  and 
one  from  Asia.  The  first,  third  and  fourth  are  native, 
so  that  all  in  all  the  American  weeds  have  held  their 
own  quite  successfully  in  the  Hoosier  State. 

And  now,  we  suppose,  the  question  naturally  arises  : 
"What  is  the  best  method  of  ridding  ourselves  of 
these  weeds  now  that  they  are  here  ?  "  In  my  opinion 


252  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

there  is  no  method.  They  are  here  and  here  to  stay. 
The  farmers  of  the  future  must  wage  an  eternal  war- 
fare against  them,  for  they  have  secured  a  foothold 
which  can  not  be  entirely  overcome.  True,  a  new 
species  possessing  advantages  which  will  enable  it  to 
crowd  them  out,  may,  in  time,  appear,  but  such  a 
change  would  very  likely  be  for  the  worst. 

There  was  a  time  when  but  one,  two,  or  a  dozen 
plants  of  each  of  the  foreign  weeds  existed  in  the 
State.  Then  was  the  time  to  have  successfully  quar- 
antined that  species  by  destroying  those  pioneers. 
The  few  persons  on  whose  lands  they  appeared  neg- 
lected them,  and  every  gardener,  every  farmer,  yea, 
every  land  owner  in  the  State,  must  henceforth,  now 
and  forever,  pay  the  penalty  of  that  neglect  by  con- 
tinued hoeing,  plowing  and  mowing  to  keep  these 
alien  weeds  in  subjugation. 

As  long  as  the  rudiments  of  botany  are  not  taught 
in  the  common  schools  the  average  farmer  will  be 
unable  to  tell  whether  a  new  plant  which  has  made 
its  appearance  upon  his  land  should  be  allowed  to 
grow  or  not ;  in  fact,  in  many  instances,  he  will  not 
know  that  a  new  plant  is  there  until  it  becomes  too 
abundant  to  be  easily  overcome.  Put  a  high  school 
into  each  township  in  the  State;  teach  the  elements 
of  botany  therein  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  may  we 
hope  that  the  farmers  of  the  future  will  be  on  the 
lookout  for  all  new  plants ;  will  be  able  at  once  to 
judge  their  relative  injuriousness;  and  will  destroy, 
before  they  have  time  to  ripen  their  seeds,  those 
species  which,  if  allowed  to  spread,  would  become  a 
curse  to  the  State. 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.* 


I. 

The  woods  and  fields  in  winter  are  not  the  silent, 
deserted  places  which  most  people  believe  them  to-be. 
Any  person  who  will  look  with  both  eyes  and  listen 
with  both  ears  can  detect  in  them  many  forms  of  life 
— occupying  many  strange  and  wonderful  positions — 
and  gaining  a  livelihood  in  many  quaint  and  curious 
ways. 

With  the  wind  blowing  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles 
an  hour,  the  air  thick  with  falling  flakes  of  snow,  and 
the  temperature  15  degrees  Fahr.,  or  less,  one  is,  per- 
haps naturally,  disposed  to  stay  indoors  and  take  it 
for  granted  that  all  the  birds  have  long  since  departed 
for  the  sunny  south.  But  herein  mankind  sadly  errs, 
for  even  during,  such  days,  both  in  the  woods  and 
fields,  there  are  birds  and  birds.  The  ornithologist, 
strolling  for  a  mile  or  two  beyond  the  city  limits  can 
on  such  a  day,  devoted  solely  to  the  observation  of 
his  feathered  friends,  usually  detect  30  or  more  species, 
while  fully  28  additional  kinds  are  found  in  the  State 
during  the  winter  season.  These  may  be  classified 
among  three  groups : 

First. — PERMANENT  EESIDENTS,  or  those  which  rear 
their  young  here ;  they  or  other  individuals  of  their 


"•First  published  in  Terre  Haute  Gazette  ;  December,  1893-March,  1894. 
(253) 


254  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

species  remaining  with  us  throughout  the  year — 
the  quail,  crow  and  jay-bird  being  familiar  examples. 
Of  the  321  birds  known  to  occur  in  Indiana,  33  belong 
to  this  class. 

Second. — WINTER  RESIDENTS.  These  nest  in  the 
northern  regions  and  come  down  each  season  in  late 
autumn  to  spend  the  winter  months  with  us  and  cheer 
us  up  with  their  merry  chirps,  but  disappear  north- 
ward again  at  the  approach  of  spring.  The  slate 
colored  snow-bird  and  the  tree  sparrow  are  the  most 
familiar  and  abundant  of  the  eleven  species  of  this 
group  which  occur  in  Indiana. 

Third. — WINTER  VISITORS.  These  are  birds  either 
from  the  north  or  north-west  which  often  drop  in 
upon  us  to  spend  a  week  or  two  when  King  Boreas 
reigns  supreme,  and  the  mercury  marks  daily  the  zero 
point  or  below.  The  great  snowy  owl,  the  red  cross- 
bill and  the  golden  eagle  are  examples  of  the  14 
species  of  this  class  which  have  been  noted  in  the 
State. 

In  the  wooded  portions  of  Indiana  the  woodpeckers 
are  among  the  most  noticeable  and  interesting  mem- 
bers of  our  winter  bird  fauna.     Few  are  the  days 
from  November  to  April  when  their  peculiar  calls 
and  rapid  tapping  in  search   of  food 
The  Wood  b     hear£     About  250  kinds 

pecker  Family.  * 

of  woodpeckers  are  known,  only  eleven 

of  which  are  found  in  the  United  States  east  of  the 
Mississippi  river.  Of  these,  seven  occur  in  Indiana, 
five  of  the  seven  being  permanent  residents;  one,  a 
migrant,  is  seen  here  only  in  spring  and  fall ;  while  the 
other  one  is  a  summer  resident,  but  often  remains  in 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  255 

small  numbers  throughout  the  winter,  especially  in 
the  southern  half  of  the  State. 

All  belong  to  the  family  Picidce,  a  word  derived 
from  the  Latin  picus,  a  "  woodpecker."  The  charac- 
ters by  which  each  member  of  this  family  may  be 
easily  known  are  the  stout,  straight  bill,  fitted  for 
hammering  or  boring  into  wood;  the  long,  barbed 
tongue  which,  like  that  of  the  snake  or  toad,  can  be 
darted  from  the  mouth  for  the  purpose  of  catching 
insects ;  the  toes  in  pairs,  two  in  front  and  two  behind, 
and  armed  with  strong,  compressed  claws,  thus  enabling 


Fig.  71 — Zygodactyle  or  "  yoke-toed  "  foot  of  woodpecker. 

the  bird  to  get  a  firm  hold  upon  the  trunk  or  limb  of 
tree ;  while  the  tail  feathers  are  not  soft  and  rounded 
like  those  of  other  birds,  but  are  very  stiff  and  pointed 
at  the  end,  thus  enabling  the  owner  to  use  the  tail  as 
a  brace  and  so  keep  from  toppling  over  backwards 
while  delivering  its  rapid  and  powerful  blows.  The 
flight,  too,  of  these  birds  is  peculiar,  being  a  sort  of 
wave-like  or  undulatory  progression,  instead  of  a 
movement  directly  forward  on  one  level. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  five  species  of 
woodpeckers  found  in  the  State  throughout  the  year 
is  the  subject  of  the  present  sketch.  It  has  a  number 


256  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

of  common  names,  the  most  familiar  of  which  in  the 
"red-bellied  woodpecker."  Others  are  "zebra  bird," 
" woodchuck,"  or  "chuck,"  "Carolina 
woodpecker"  and  "checkered  wood- 
pecker;" while  its  scientific  name  is 
Mdanerpes  carolinus  (L.).  The  first  part  of  this  name, 
Melanerpes,  is  the  name  of  the  genus  and  corresponds 
to  our  surnames  of  Jones,  Brown,  etc.  It  is  derived 
from  two  Greek  words  and  means  "black  creeper." 
The  second  part,  carolinus,  corresponds  to  our  given 
names  of  John,  Mary,  etc.,  although  it  is  always  writ- 
ten after  the  sur  or  generic  name.  It  is  derived  from 
"  Carolina,"  from  which  region  the  first  specimens  were 
described  by  Linnaeus,  the  noted  Swedish  naturalist 
of  the  last  century. 

Thus,  each  kind  of  bird,  as  well  as  each  kind  of 
organic  object  which  has  been  noted  and  studied  by 
man,  has  a  double  Latin  name  by  which  it  is  known 
to  naturalists  in  every  country  on  earth  ;  while  it  may 
have  a  dozen  common  names  in  the  restricted  locality 
where  it  is  found.  There  are  thousands  of  birds  of 
this  name  in  Indiana,  but  they  are  all  very  nearly 
alike — that  is  of  one  species — and  hence  have  the 
same  Latin  name;  while  those  woodpeckers  which 
differ  materially  in  size,  color,  etc.,  have  different  Latin 
names,  as  we  shall  see  on  the  following  pages. 

The  red-bellied  woodpecker  is  about  ten  inches  in 
length  from  tip  of  bill  to  end  of  tail.  The  back  and 
wings  are  very  prettily  barred  with  narrow  black  and 
white  bands,  whence  the  less  used  but  more  suitable 
name  of  "  zebra  bird."  In  the  male  the  ejitire  upper 
surface  of  the  head  and  neck  is  a  bright  scarlet-red, 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS. 


257 


while  in  the  female  the  crown  is  ash  colored,  with  the 
forehead  and  nape  of  the  neck  scarlet.  The  whole 
under  part  of  the  body  is  a  grayish  ash  with  a  tinge 
of  red  on  the  belly. 

The  zebra  bird  is  the  hermit  among  onr  woodpeck- 
ers.    He  scorns  the  companionship  of  other  members 


Ife 


IP 


Fig.  72    Red-Delliocl  Woodpecker. 

of  his  family  and  delights  to  be  alone  or  in  the  com- 
pany of  his  mate  only.  During  the  winter  and  early 
spring  he  may  be  found  along  the  borders  of  wood- 
lands, where  in  the  tops  of  the  tallest  trees  he  indus- 
triously seeks  his  food.  At  intervals  he  pauses  in  his 
work,  raises  his  head  and  looking  around,  utters  a 
17 


258  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

loud  " char-char"  or  "chuck,  chuck,  chuck,"  and  then 
immediately  resumes  his  pecking  with  increased  vigor. 
Rarely  in  winter,  when  insect  food  is  scarce,  does 
he  visit  the  farmer's  corn  crib  and,  gaining  ingress 
between  the  logs  or  rails,  helps  himself  to  a  bountiful 
supply  of  food. 

As  the  nesting  season  approaches  he,  with  his  chosen 
mate,  seeks  the  privacy  of  the  deepest  woods,  where 
high  above  the  grounds n  some  decaying  limb  or  trunk 
of  tree  a  place  for  a  nest  is  excavated.  The  eggs  are 
four  to  six  in  number,  pure  white  in  color,  and  about 
lx.87  inches  in  size. 

To  the  farmer  who  owns  timber  land  this  wood- 
pecker is  one  of  the  most  beneficial  of  birds.  The 
number  of  kinds  of  insects  which  prey  upon  our  native 
forest  trees  is  surprisingly  large.  The  oak  harbors 
between  500  and  600  species ;  the  hickory,  140 ;  the 
walnut,  70;  the  elm,  25  to  30,  and  the  maple  at  least 
15.  To  the  presence  of  these  insects,  more  than  to 
anything  else,  is  the  stunted  growth  and  early  decay 
of  our  timber  due.  Thousands  of  wood-boring  beetles, 
caterpillars,  plant  lice  and  young  saw-flies  are  annu- 
ally destroyed  by  the  zebra  bird.  On  this  account  the 
farmers  who  have  not  already  made  his  acquaintance, 
should  at  least  seek  to  know  him  by  sight,  and  always 
protect  him  and  his  young  from  their  now  most  dan- 
gerous enemies,  the  small  boy  with  his  musket  and 
the  city  sportsman  with  his  shotgun. 

In  autumn,  especially,  the  woods  and  fields  through- 
out the  State  are  full  of  these  self-styled  "  hunters," 
ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  bring  down  any  bird 
larger  than  a  sparrow,  any  animal  above  a  field  mouse 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  259 

or  a  chipmunk.  No  feeling  of  sorrow  ever  enters 
their  minds  as  they  gaze  into  the  eyes  of  some  cruelly 
wounded  bird  or  animal  and  see  the  life  force,  which 
they  can  never  recall,  slowly  ebbing  away.  The 
woodpeckers,  in  particular,  suffer  from  their  heedless 
shooting.  Hundreds  of  them  are  daily  shot  down 
and  left  where  they  fall,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  show- 
ing the  hunter's  skill  in  marksmanship,  or  to  satisfy 
that  craving  desire  to  kill  objects  below  him  in  the 
scale  .of  life  which  blinds  him  to  every  feeling  of  pity, 
every  sense  of  remorse. 

To  those  who  have  been  accustomed  to  pass  the 
cold  season  in  the  city,  exempt  for  months  from  the 
pure,  bracing,  country  air,  I  would  say  :  Go  forth  and 
study  nature  on  some  sunny  day  in  mid-winter.  You 
will  not  find  the  woods  full  of  thrushes,  warblers  and 
other  songsters  ready  on  every  hand  to  greet  you. 
They  are  effeminate  birds,  joyous  only  in  the  presence 
of  plenty  of  blue  sky  and  sunshine,  and  Jack  Frost 
has  long  since  driven  them  to  seek  a  sunny,  southern 
clime  where  food  is  more  plentiful  than  here.  But 
you  will  find  their  rugged  cousin,  the  zebra  bird, 
clinging  to  the  side  of  a  dead  stub  and  deriving  pure 
inspiration  therefrom.  You  will  see  him  fluff  his 
feathers  about  his  bare  toes  to  keep  them  warm  while 
he  makes  the  woods  reverberate  with  his  cheery 
call — and  from  him,  if  you  are  wise,  you  may  learn  a 
lesson  of  happiness  and  contentment. 


260 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


II. 


He,  who  would  become  acquainted  with  our  com- 
mon birds,  must  seek  them  in  their  chosen  haunts; 
for  in  the  ages  of  the  past  each  kind  has  become  fitted 
or  adapted  to  live  a  certain  life — to  seek  its  food  in  a 
certain  place.  In  the  spring,  keen-eyed,  sharp-eared 
robins  hop  leisurely  over  the  surface  of  our  lawns  and 
gardens  and  drag  earth-worms  and  cut-worms  galore 


Fig.73-Robin.    (After  Beal.) 

from  their  hiding-places;  long-legged  snipe  wade  the 
shallow  water  along  the  margins  of  ponds  and 
streams  and  probe  with  their  long,  soft  bills  the  muck 
and  mud  in  search  of  worms  and  leeches ;  web-footed 
wild  ducks  swim  and  dive  in  ponds  and  rivers,  silting 
through  their  broad  lamellate  bills  the  mud  and  ooze 
for  small  fish,  shrimps,  and  other  water-loving  forms;* 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  261 

wide-mouthed  swallows  cleave  the  air  in  varied  cir- 
cles, snapping  up  on  the  wing  the  myriads  of  unlucky 
insects  which  they  meet ,'  but  most  wonderfully,  most 
strikingly  adapted  for  the  life  they  lead  are  the  mem- 
bers of  the  woodpecker  tribe.  One  seeks  them  not 
on  the  smooth  lawn,  nor  along  the  margin  of  pond 
and  stream,  nor  in  the  blue  vault  of  heaven  above; 
for,  as  their  name  indicates,  they  are  peckers  of  wood, 
and  on  trees,  fences  or  wooden  objects  only,  are  they 
found.  Darwin,  in  his  epoch  making  book,  "The 
Origin  of  Species,"  calls  attention,  time  and  again, 
to  their  marvelous  adaptation  of  beak  and  tongue,  of 
toes  and  tail.  Couple  with  these  a  keen  eye,  a  sharp 
ear  and  a  long,  strong  wing,  and  we  have  the  hardy 
denizen  of  the  woods,  who  braves  unflinchingly  every 
clime  and  finds  a  plentiful  living  where  other  birds 
would  quickly  starve. 

Of  the  five  species  of  woodpeckers  which  spend  the 
winter  months  with  us  there  are  two  which  are  often 
confounded  by  the  person  who  is  beginning  the  study 
of  birds.  At  a  distance  they  appear  to  be  colored 
exactly  alike,  both  being  black  above  with  a  white 
stripe  running  lengthwise  down  the  back  and  numer- 
ous white  spots  arranged  in  crossbars  on  the  quills  of 
the  wings.  There  is  a  narrow  white  stripe  above  the 
eye,  and  below  it  a  broader  and  longer  one  extending 
beyond  the  eye,  almost  to  the  white  stripe  on  the 
back.  In  the  full  grown  male  there  is  a  crescent 
shaped  scarlet  band  across  the  back  of  the  head  which 
is  always  lacking  in  the  female.  The  under  surface 
of  the  body  is  a  uniform  grayish-white. 

In  size  alone  are  the  two  species  readily  separated; 


262  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

the  larger  or  "hairy"  being  more  than  two  inches 
longer  than  the  "  downy  ; "  the  average  length  of  the 
former  being  nine  inches  from  tip  of  bill  to  end  of 
tail,  while  that  of  the  latter  is  but  six  and  a  half 
inches.  Only  when  wre  have  them  in  hand  do  we  de- 
tect any  other  difference  than  that  of  size.  Then,  by 
spreading  out  the  tail,  we  find  its  outer  feathers  to  be 
pure  white  in  the  " hairy,"  while  in  the  "  downy"  they 
are  cross-barred  with  black  near  the  tip. 

These  birds  were  both  first  described  by  Linnaeus, 
who  gave  to  the  larger  one  the  name  of  Picus  villosus 
and  to  the  smaller  one  that  of  Picas  pubescens.  The 
word  "Picus"  means  "woodpecker,"  while  villosus  and' 
pubescens  both  mean  "downy"  or  "  covered  with  very 
fine  soft  hairs."  Later  writers  have  divided  up  the 
genus  Picus  and  have  assigned  certain  of  its  members 
to  other  genera.  Among  these  are  the  two  species 
now  in  hand  which,  with  a  few  others  not  occurring 
in  Indiana,  are  placed  in  the  genus  Dryobates,  which 
means  "oak  walker."  The  common  names  "hairy" 
and  "downy,"  have  evidently  been  derived  from  the 
specific  names,  and  signify  no  difference  whatever  in 
the  character  of  the  plumage  of  the  two  birds. 

The  hairy  woodpecker,  Dry  abates  villosus  (L.),  has 
many  local  names  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
chief  among  which  are  the  "Virginia 
woodpecker,"  "big  sapsucker,"  "big 
spotted  woodpecker,"  and  "big  guinea 
woodpecker,"  the  adjective  "big*"  being  prefixed  to 
distinguish  him  from  his  smaller  cousin  which  in  color 
he  so  closely  resembles. 

He  is  less  sociable  than  the  "downy,"  frequenting 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS. 


263 


more  often  than  that  species  the  depths  of  the  woods ; 
though  hunger  often  drives  him  in  mid-winter  to  the 
outskirts  of  the  city,  where,  in  the  tops  of  the  many 
decaying  shade  tree»,  he  finds  the  struggle  for  existence 
between  himself  and  his  kin  less  deadly  than  in  his 
native  wood.  A  careful  examination  of  82  stomachs 


Fig.  74— Hairy  Woodpecker.    (After  Beal.) 

of  this  species  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Ornithology  at 
Washington,  showed  that  68  per  cent,  of  the  food  was 
animal  matter,  largely  the  remains  of  injurious  insects ; 
while  31  per  cent,  was  of  vegetable  origin,  consisting 
mainly  of  wild  cherries,  grapes  and  the  berries  of  the 
dogwood  and  Virginia  creeper. 


264  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

On  one  bright  December  morning,  I  watched,  for  a 
half  hour  or  longer,  a  hairy  woodpecker  which  had 
alighted  near  the  middle  of  an  upright  limb  of  an  oak. 
Instead  of  moving  upwards,  as  is  his  usual  wont,  he 
hopped  backwards  an  inch  or  two  at  a  time  for  twenty 
or  more  feet,  peering  intently,  on  both  sides  as  he 
descended,  into  every  crevice  and  cranny  in  the  bark. 
Xot  a  sound  did  he  make  meanwhile,  though  a  saucy 
torn-tit  was  uttering  its  "dee-dee-dee"  within  a  few 
feet  of  his  head  and  a  zebra  bird  on  an  upper  limb 
gave  forth  at  intervals  its  loud  alarm  note  of  "  char- 
char." 

Reaching  the  base  of  the  limb  the  "hairy"  flew  a 
foot  or  two  to  another  and  began  to  hop  up  this  at 
the  same  rate  of  speed  as  he  had  descended  the  first. 
At  short  intervals  he  sounded  the  wood  with  his  bill, 
listening  intently  the  while,  and  at  last,  I  suppose,  the 
percussion  was  satisfactory;  for,  fixing  more  firmly 
his  stiff  tail  feathers  against  the  tree  as  a  prop,  he 
rose  to  the  full  length  of  his  short  powerful  legs,  and 
drawing  back  his  body,  head  and  neck  to  the  farthest 
extent,  he  dashed  his  wedge-shaped  bill  home  with 
all  the  force  of  his  entire  bodily  weight  and  muscle. 
How  the  bits  of  lichen,  bark  and  fragments  of  half 
rotten  wood  came  tumbling  down  and  how  handsome 
he  looked  with  the  scarlet  cap  on  the  back  of  his 
head,  and  the  white  central  stripe  contrasting  so 
vividly  with  the  glossy  black  of  his  back ! 

At  last  the  reward  came  in  the  shape  of  a  good  fat 
grub  which  was  quickly  drawn  from  its  hiding  place 
by  the  long  barbed  tongue  of  the  bird.  After  swal- 
lowing this  prize  he  was  evidently  well  pleased  with 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIBDS.  265 

its  taste  for  he  uttered  for  the  first  time  his  usual  call, 
"plick-plick"  and  then  began  once  more  his  active 
search,  pecking,  pecking,  hammering  on  his  upward 
course. 

In  this  way  his  daily  life  is  spent  from  November 
to  March,  often  enduring  ice,  frost,  snow,  sleet,  rain 
.and  hail,  but  cheerfully  meeting  them  all  undaunted. 
When  the  warm  April  sunshine  enlivens  the  woods, 
and  insect  food  can  be  had  for  the  asking,  he  seeks 
for  himself  a  mate,  and  together  they  excavate  a  nest 
in  the  terminal  limb  of  a  lofty  beech  or  in  the  top  of 
some  tall  oak  snag.  Here  the  eggs,  five  or  six  in 
number,  are  deposited.  They  are  pure  crystal  white 
with  an  ivory  texture  and  are  .85x.65  of  an  inch  in 
size. 

III. 

The  "  downy  woodpecker,"  Dryobaies  pubescens  (L.), 

appears  to  be  much  more  plentiful  than  the  "hairy," 

but  this  is  doubtless  due  to  his  sociable  qualities  as 

he  seems  to  seek,  rather  than  shun,  the  society  of 

man.     One  does  not  so  commonly  find 

Wood  ^cker  ^"n  ^n  c^ceP  woodlands  as  in  the 
orchards  and  the  borders  of  woods 
near  farm  houses.  Often,  especially  in  the  spring- 
time, they  are  seen  along  roadsides,  clinging  to  the 
upright  stakes  of  the  old  worm  fences,  watching  the 
plodding  ploughman  at  his  toil  and  scolding  mildly 
if  he  comes  too  near.  When  the  blasts  blow  cold, 
and  the  soggy  limb  of  the  forest  tree  is  frozen  hard, 
one  may  sometimes  see  a  downy  on  the  dead  limb  of  a 


266  •  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

shade  tree  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  where,  though 
surrounded  by  a  bedlam  of  noises,  he  pecks  away  as 
industriously  and  contentedly  as  he  does  when  in  the 
depths  of  the  forest.  But  they  frequent  the  city  much 
more  seldom  now  than  when  that  despised  alien,  the 
ubiquitous  and  aggressive  English  sparrow,  wras  a 
stranger  to  our  land. 

The  downy  is  known  by  several  other  common 
names;  chief  among  which  are  the  "little  spotted 

woodpecker,"  and  the 
"  little  sapsucker."  The 
latter  name  is,  how- 
ever, a  misnomer,  as 
neither  he  nor  the  hairy 
ever  bore  into  trees  for 
the  purpose  of  gather- 
ing sap  as  does  their 

Fig.  75— Head  of  Downy  Woodpecker.      cousin,  the   yelloWT-bel- 

lied  wroodpecker,  Sphyrapicus  varius  (L.).  The  last 
named  bird  is  a  migrant,  seen  here  only  in  spring  and 
fall,  and  the  holes  he  bores  are  small,  shallow  and 
close  together,  in  regular  circles  about  the  tree  ;  while 
those  made  by  the  downy  and  hairy  in  search  of 
insect  food  are  scattered  irregularly  over  the  surface 
of  the  limb  or  trunk. 

On  a  recent  October  morn  I  watched  a  "  downy  " 
carving  with  his  strong,  chisel-shaped  bill  a  cavity  in 
a  dead  snag,  probably  one  which  he. intended  using 
as  a  winter  shelter.  Clinging  to  the  edge  of  the  hole, 
he  would  reach  in  until  only  his  tail  was  visible,  give 
three  or  four  vigorous  pecks,  then  draw  forth  his  body 
and  head  and  "  spit  out,"  or  rather  cast  aside  the  frag- 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS,  267 

merits  of  decayed  wood  he  had  broken  loose.  _  Glanc- 
ing hurriedly  about  on  all  sides,  he  would  again  dodge 
in  for  a  new  series  of  blows.  His  feet  remained  in 
one  place,  but  when  at  work  his  body  was  all  motion  ; 
his  tail,  as  he  pecked,  bobbing  up  and  down  against 
the  wood,  two  or  three  inches  below  the  opening  of 
the  hole.  Thus  he  worked  for  twenty-eight  minutes, 
when  a  slight  movement  of  mine  frightened  him  and 
he  was  up  and  away.  The  bottom  of  the  cavity  was 
five  inches  below  the  opening.  Small  feathers  were 
found  in  it  on  several  occasions  during  the  following 
winter,  showing  that  it  was  used  as  a  resting  place, 
probably  at  night. 

To  the  farmer  and  fruit  raiser  the  downy  wood- 
pecker is  very  valuable  as  an  enemy  of  caterpillars. 
It  preys  upon  these  insects  in  all  stages.  It  drags  the 
butterflies  and  moths  from  their  hiding  places ;  licks 
up  by  the  score  their  deposited  eggs ;  feasts  for  days 
in  early  summer  upon  the  caterpillars  themselves,  and 
in  autumn  and  winter  bores  neat  round  holes  into  the 
sides  of  the  leathery  cocoons  and  extracts  the  contents 
thereof.  It  is  only  when  insect  food  becomes  very 
scarce  that  it  deigns  to  feed  upon  such  dry  forms  of 
nutriment  as  grain,  seeds  of  grasses  and  the  softer 
nuts.  From  an*examination  of  140  of  the  stomachs 
of  this  bird  it  was  found  that  74  per  cent,  of  the  food 
was  of  animal  origin. 

The  "downy"  is  sociable,  not  only  with  mankind, 
but  also  with  his  feathered  kin  in  general.  Especially 
in  winter,  does  one  often  find  him  the  leader  or  guide 
of  a  little  coterie  of  chickadees,  kinglets,  nuthatches, 
and  titmice — ramblers  all,  who  go  roaming  in  com- 


268  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATVEE. 

pany  the  livelong  day.  Their  whistles  and  chirps, 
twitters  and  trills,  uttered  in  unison,  make  a  jubilee 
in  January  equal  to  any  heard  in  June  when  the  birds 
are  supposed  to  be  most  numerous.  I  have  listened 
manifold  times  to  such  a  chorus  and  so  have  many 
other  persons,  particularly  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott,  who 
described  as  follows  one  he  heard  on  a  mid-winter 
morn  with  the  mercury  at  zero  :  "  The  clear  call  of 
the  crested  tit  opened  the  concert.  The  abundant 
chickadees  twittered ;  kinglets  trilled  a  merry  rounde- 
lay ;  snow  birds  chirped  ;  a  cardinal  performed  an  inim- 
itable solo;  and  to  all  the  downy  woodpecker  was 
alike  attentive  and  drummed  a  tuneful  accompani- 
ment on  the  most  resonant  tree  in  all  the  woods." 


IV. 

In  books  we  find  portrayed  the  thoughts  of  man — 
in  nature,  those  of  God.  Tired  of  poring  over  the 
former  I  sought  the  woods  and  fields  on  the  afternoon 
of  a  recent  dim  December  day  to  study  the  latter, 
and,  if  possible,  solve  some  problem,  ever  present, 
ever  interesting,  concerning  the  life  history  of  beast 
or  bird,  of  bug  or  bramble. 

The  blue  sky  of  the  forenoon  had  given  way  to  a 
sombre  gray  which  far  and  wide  came  down  to  meet 
the  earth.  No  insect  life  was  abroad  on  such  a  day. 
But  if  the  insects  were  lacking,  what  of  the  birds? 
Had  the  leaden  sky  and  north  wind  caused  them,  too, 
.to  seek  a  place  of  shelter  and  remain  silent  and  invis- 
ible? As  I  asked  the  question  the  crr-rrh-rrh  of  a 
woodpecker  in  a  neighboring  beech  denied  the  allega- 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  269 

tion ;  while  the  distant  hut  rapidly  nearing  caw-caw  of 
a  flying  crow  lent  strength  to  the  denial.  Wood- 
peckers and  crows !  ^o  winter  day  too  dull  and 
dreary — no  sky  too  leaden  and  cheerless: — no  north 
wind  too  harsh  and  biting,  for  them  to  he  on  the 
lookout  for  food ! 

To  my  surprise  and  delight  I  found  the  bird  in  the 

beech  to  be  that  handsome,  tri-colored  fellow  known 

as  the  "  red-headed  woodpecker."    This  species  which, 

it  is  said,  first  excited  the  latent  enthusiasm  of  that 

eminent  naturalist,  Alexander  Wilson, 

™*  ^ed=h«aded    and  determined  him  to  be  an  orni- 
Woodpecker. 

thologist,  ranges  over  the  whole  of  the 

eastern  United  States  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Its  long  scientific  name  is  Melanerpes 
erythrocephalus  (L.) ;  melanerpes  meaning  "black 
creeper,"  and  erythrocephalus,  "  red-headed." 

The  "red-head"  is  so  different  in  color  from  all 
other  woodpeckers  that  that  one  character  alone  will 
be  sufficient  to  describe  him  for  easy  recognition.  In 
adults,  or  full  grown  specimens  of.  both  sexes,  the 
whole  head  and  neck  are  a  brilliant  crimson ;  the 
under  parts  of  the  body,  the  shorter  wing  feathers  or 
secondaries,  and  the  rump  are  white ;  while  the 
remainder  of  the  body  is  a  glossy  blue-black.  In  the 
young  the  head  and  neck  are  grayish,  or  slightly 
tinged  with  red.  The  length  from  tip  of  bill,  along 
the  back,  to  end  of  longest  tail  feather  is  8J  to  9|- 
inches. 

The  nest  of  the  red-head  is  usually  placed  in  a 
cavity  which  it  excavates  in  a  limb  or  trunk  of  tree 
at  some  distance  from  the  ground ;  but  often,  for  want 


270 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


of  a  better  locality,  it  chips  a  hole  in  a  fence  stake, 
telegraph  pole,  church  steeple,  or  cornice  about  the 
roofs  of  dwellings.  The  eggs  are  four  to  six  in  number, 


Fig.  76-Red-headed  Woodpecker.    (After  Beal.) 

elliptical  in  form,  pure  translucent  white,  and  measure 
1  x  .8  inches. 

In  northern  and  central  Indiana  the  red-head  is 
usually  a  summer  resident,  arriving  from  the  south 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  271 

about  the  middle  of  April  and  remaining  until  mid- 
October.  During  that  time  he  is  the  most  common 
species  of  the  family,  holding  his  own  with  perfect 
ease  and  ceaseless  familiarity.  In  traveling  through 
the  country,  during  the  spring  and  summer,  one  hears 
them  screaming  in  the  adjoining  woods,  rattling  on 
the  dead  limbs  of  trees,  or  on  the  fences,  along  which 
they  are  perpetually  seen  flitting  from  stake  to  stake 
on  the  roadside  ahead. 

In  southern  Indiana,  and  especially  within  the  shel- 
tered confines  of  the  Wabash  valley  as  far  north  as 
Terre  Haute,  the  red-head  usually  remains  through- 
out the  winter  in  small  numbers.  But  in  those  sea- 
sons when  beechnuts  are  plentiful  he  hoards  or  stores 
up  a  supply  of  them  for  winter  food  and  then  remains 
in  large  numbers,  even  to  the  northern  boundaries  of 
the  State.  As  soon  as  the  nuts  begin  to  ripen  in 
autumn,  the  birds  appear  to  be  almost  constantly  on 
the  wing,  to  and  fro,  from  the  beech  trees  to  some 
place  of  deposit.  They  hide  away  the  nuts  in 'almost 
every  conceivable  situation.  Many  are  placed  in  cav- 
ities in  partially  decayed  trees;  and  the  felling  of  any 
old  tree  near  a  beech  grove  is  certain  to  disclose  a 
pint  or  more  of  their  chosen  winter  food.  Another 
favorite  storing  place  is  beneath  the  loose  bark  of  the 
hickory,  or  behind  some  long  sliver  of  fence  post  or 
rail.  Sometimes  the  nuts  are  driven  into  the  cracks 
at  the  end  of  railroad  ties.  Again  they  may  be  found 
in  the  crevices  between  the  shingles  on  the  roofs  of 
barns  or  even  houses.  A  friend,  who  is  a  close 
observer,  also  relates  that  the  holes  which  are  bored 
into  the  beams  and  logs  of  old  cribs  and  sheds  for  the 


272  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

insertion  of  wooden  pins,  are  often  utilized  as  store- 
houses by  the  birds,  being  filled  with  beechnuts  as  far 
as  the  red-head  can  reach.  They  oftentimes  stuff  the 
opening  full  of  moss  and  cedar  bark  to  hide  the  con- 
tents. Whether  the  bird  remembers  where  each  nut 
is  placed,  or  whether  it  trusts  to  luck  in  finding  it 
again  is,  as  yet,  an  open  question.  That  the  red-head 
lives  to  a  large  extent  in  winter  upon  this  stored  food 
has  been  proven  by  the  examination  of  the  stomachs 
of  a  number  of  specimens  at  that  season. 

The  belief,  so  common  among  many  persons,  that 
these  birds  are  weather  prophets,  and,  foreseeing  a 
long  hard  winter,  depart  early  in  autumn  for  a  warmer 
clime,  is,  in  my  opinion,  unfounded.  Irregularity  of 
migration,  residence,  and  so  forth,  among  birds,  is,  I 
believe,  due  almost  wholly  to  irregularity  of  a  suita- 
ble food  supply. 

But  our  red-head,  as  he  has  advanced  in  civilization, 
has  developed  a  taste  for  other-articles  of  food  besides 
nuts  and  insects,  and  has  become,  in  the  words  of 
Maurice  Thompson,  "a  cider  taster,  a  judge  of  good 
fruits,  a  connoisseur  of  corn,  wheat  and  melons,  and 
an  expert  fly  catcher  as  well."  He  is  excessively  fond 
of  ripe  mulberries  and  wild  cherries,  and  in  their 
season  spends  much  time  in  winging  his  way  to  and 
from  these  trees.  I  have  often  seen  him  dart  from 
the  top  of  a  mulberry  or  other  tree,  and  with  unerr- 
ing flight  catch  upon  the  wing  some  unlucky  insect, 
and  then  immediately  return  to  his  diet  of  fruit  once 
more. 

During  the  summer  months  he  chooses  the  finest 
cherries,  grapes  and  apples  for  his  dessert  and  thus 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  273 

oftentimes  brings  upon  himself  the  unqualified  rage 
of  the  farmer  or  fruit  grower.  When  Indian  corn  is 
in  its  rich,  succulent,  milky  state  he  attacks  it  with 
great  eagerness,  opening  a  passage  through  the  numer- 
ous folds  of  the  husk,  and  feeding  on  it  with  voracity. 
But  for  every  cherry,  apple  or  ear  of  corn  thus  de- 
stroyed, a  thousand  injurious  insects  are  annually 
eaten;  and  so  the  farmer  when  he  tells  his  boys  "to 
show  no  mercy  to  the  red-heads  in  the  orchard"  is 
only  "  saving  at  the  spigot  to  lose  later  on  at  the 
bung." 

Professor  Forbes  of  the  Illinois  University  exam- 
ined the  stomachs  of  a  number  of  these  birds  during 
the  month  of  May  and  found  that  their  food  at  that 
season  consisted  of:  canker-worms,  15  per  cent.; 
beetles  and  other  injurious  insects,  65  per  cent. ;  seeds 
and  grain,  20  per  cent.;  thus  proving  their  value  as 
insect  destroyers.  In  101  stomachs  examined  at 
Washington,  50  per  cent,  of  the  food  was  of  animal, 
47  per  cent,  of  vegetable,  and  the  remainder  of  min- 
eral origin.  Beetles  and  grasshoppers  formed  86  per 
cent,  of  all  the  food,  while  the  vegetable  portion  was 
mainly  wild  fruits,  though  17. of  the  stomachs  con- 
tained corn. 

The  red-head  is  ever  ready  to  pick  a  quarrel,  not 
only  among  members'  of  his  own  species,  but  fre- 
quently with  other  birds,  and  their  noisy  chatter  when 
thus  engaged  too  often  makes  a  bedlam  of  our  fairest 
woodlands  and  drowns  out  the  pleasing  notes  of  the 
more  favored  songsters. 


is 


274  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

V. 

'Twas  the  day  before  Christmas — bright  and  beauti- 
ful— a  winter  day  in  name  only.  As  I  tramped  town  rds 
the  boundaries  of  one  of  nature's  domains,  far  beyond 
the  city  limits, 

A  balmy  thermal  breeze 

To  me, 
From  sunny,  southern  seas 

Came  joyously. 

Ah,  rare  the  day 

At  Christmas  tide, 
When  on  such  breeze 

One's  thoughts  can  ride. 

Reaching  the  border  of  a  thicket  enclosed  by  an  old 
worm  fence,  I  seated  myself  on  the  topmost  rail  of 
one  of  its  panels  and  waited  for  sound  or  sight  of  ani- 
mal life.  I  had  not  long  to  wait ;  for  soon  the  chatter 
of  a  noisy  jay  came  from  the  top  of  a  near-by  oak, 
while  a  crow  in  the  midst  of  the  thicket  began  to 
challenge  me  with  his  limited  vocabulary  of  "  hah-hah, 
hah-hah."  His  call  was  immediately  answered  by  one 
of  his  brethren  in  a  neighboring  woods — this  one  by 
still  another  farther  away,  and  thus  a  series  of  signals 
traveled  across  the  township — a  wave  of  crow  laugh- 
ter, as  it  were — of  which  I,  perhaps,  was  the  involun- 
tary cause. 

Suddenly  another  sound  broke  upon  my  ear,  a  clear, 
ringing,  highly  musical  note — "  willy-way,  willy-way, 
willy -way" — repeated  at  short  intervals.  It  resembled 
somewhat  the  whistle  of  the  cardinal  grosbeak,  or 
"  red  bird,"  but  was  a  far  louder  and  more  pleasing 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS. 


275 


call.     I   was   thrilled  with  delight,  for  I  recognized 

instantly  the  spring  note  of  an  old  acquaintance,  the 

great   Carolina  wren.      Few,    indeed, 

are  the  winter  days  when  this,  the 
Carolina  Wren.  J 

characteristic,  vernal  love  call  is  ut- 
tered; but  the  "sunny,  southern"  breeze  had  brought 
joy  also  to  the  wren's  heart,  and  forgetful  of  season — 
forgetful  of  the  many  cold,  dreary  days  which  must 
intervene  before  the  call  could  be  rightfully  issued — 
conscious  only  of  the  warm  and  soothing  sunshine, 
the  singer  made  the  welkin  ring  for  rods  around. 

The  wren  was  not  visible,  and  was  much  farther 
away  than  I 
thought,  when 
I  started  to- 
ward the  seem- 
ing source  of 
the  song.  The 
resonant  quali- 
ty of  its  note  r 
caused,  as  it 
were,  the  whole 
copse  to  ring  ' 
with  the  sound, 
thus  deaden- 
ing, to  a  certain 
extent,  the  di- 
rection from 
whence  it 

came  Fig.  77— Great  Carolina  Wren.    (After  Coues.) 

After  some  ten  minutes'  search,  during  which  the 
notes  were  stopped  a  number  of  times  and  then  re- 


276  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

sumcd,  I  espied  the  songster  sitting  atilt  of  a  splinter 
which  extended  upward  from  the  center  of  the  stump 
of  a  freshly  cut  tree.  .  His  tail  was  bent  downward, 
his  head  raised  heavenward,  while  the  rich  rolling 
notes  were  issuing  forth  with  a  force  and  energy 
seemingly  wholly  at  variance  with  the  size  of  the 
bird. 

Unfortunately  he  saw  me  too,  and  instantly  the  call 
was  hushed,  and  with  a  headlong  dive  he  went  into 
the  depths  of  an  adjacent  brush  heap.  I  stepped 
behind  a  tree  and  waited,  for  the  Carolina  wren  shares 
the  restlessness  and  prying  curiosity  of  all  his  tribe, 
being  continually  on  the  go-— fidgety — all  starts  and 
jerks — like  some  people  we  know  in  whom  the  nerv- 
ous tissue  largely  predominates. 

Sure  enough  he  soon  appeared  on  the  side  of  the 
brush  pile  nearest  me,  peering  from  among  the  dead 
leaves  with  an  inquisitive  air,  jumping  from  twig'to 
twig  of  the  brush — all  the  time  teetering  his  body  in 
a  peculiar  wrerinish  fashion,  and  performing  other 
odd,  nervous  antics  as  if  possessed  with  the  very  spirit 
of  unrest.  Finally  he  reached  the  topmost  twig  of 
the  pile  of  brush  from  which  commanding  situation 
he  resented  my  intrusion  upon  his  domain  with  a 
series  of  scolds — prr — prr — prr — for  twenty  or  more 
times,  emphasizing  each  utterance  with  a  quivering 
shake  of  his  whole  body  and  especially  of  his  tajl. 
Then  another  dive  into  the  brush — a  flitter  and  a 
flutter  close  to  the  earth — and  he  was  hopping  beneath 
a  fallen  beech  which,  a  few  rods  away,  was  supported 
on  its  branches  some  feet  above  the  ground.  There 
let  us  leave  him  for  a  short  time  while  we  make  known 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  277 

some  of  the  more  important  facts  concerning  his  life 
history. 

The  great  Carolina  wren  is  "great"  only  in  com- 
parison with  other  wrens,  being  the  largest  of  six 
species  which  occur  in  Indiana,  and  the  only  one 
which  spends  the  entire  year  with  us.  Another,  the 
little  winter  wren,  nests  in  northern  regions  and 
spends  the  cold  season  from  the  latitude  of  central 
Indiana,  southward.  The  other  four  are  "  summer 
residents,"  nesting  in  the  State  and  going  south  in 
autumn.  All  are  plainly  colored,  being  chiefly  brown  ; 
and  all,  in  the  words  of  that  eminent  ornithologist, 
Elliot  Coues,  are  :  "  Sprightly,  fearless,  and  impudent 
little  creatures,  apt  to  show  bad  temper  when  they 
fancy  themselves  aggrieved  by  cats  or  people,  or  any- 
thing else  that  is  big  or  unpleasant  to  them.  They  quar- 
rel a  good  deal  and  are  particularly  spiteful  towards 
martins  and  swallows  whose  homes  they  often  invade 
and  occupy.  Their  song  is  bright  and  hearty  and  they 
are  fond  of  their  own  music,  but  when  disturbed  at 
it  they  make  a  great  ado  with  noisy  scolding." 

The  bill  of  the  Carolina  wren  is  stouter  than  that 
of  the  other  species,  and  its  front  half  is  somewhat 
decurved  or  bent  downwards.  The  total  length  of 
the  bird  is  5|  to  6  inches,  the  tail  being  a  little  shorter 
than  the  wings.  In  color  it  is  clear  reddish-brown 
above,  brightest  on  the  rump,  and  with  the  feathers 
of  the  wings  and  tail  finely  and  prettily  barred  with 
blackish.  Below  it  is  a  tawny  yellow.  The  throat 
and  cheeks  are  gray,  while  a  narrow  whitish  line 
curves  backward  over  the  eye,  and  a  bar  of  small 
white  spots  crosses  the  wings  near  their  base. 


278  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Other  common  names  by  which  it  is  known  are 
"mocking  wren"  and  "large  wood  wren,"  while  its 
long  Latin  name  is  Thryothorus  ludovicianus  (Gmelin), 
the  first  part  of  which  is  derived  from  two  Greek 
words  meaning  "reed"  and  "leaping,"  while  the  last 
or  specific  name  is  the  Latin  for  "  of  Louisiana,"  from 
which  region  the  bird  was  first  described. 

Its  chosen  haunts  are  the  wooded  or  rocky  banks  of 
streams,  piles  of  logs  and  brush  heaps  in  clearings,  or 
the  zigzag  lines  of  the  old  rail  fences  with  thei-r  cor- 
ners full  of  bushy  shrubs  and  fallen  weeds;  indeed, 
wherever  nature,  accident,  or  design  has  provided  a 
place  where  it  can  make  itself  conspicuous  one  instant 
and  be  entirely  concealed  the  next.  There,  too,  hidden 
beneath  lichens,  in  the  depths  of  fungi,  or  in  the  cracks 
and  crannies  of  rail  or  log,  its  favorite  food,  spiders, 
ants  and  gnats  abound.  Its  thick-set,  bulky  body, 
short  wings  and  tail,  and  slender,  slightly  curved  bill, 
are  especially  adapted  to  an  insectivorous  life  close  to 
the  ground.  The  wren,  therefore,  is  seldom  if  ever 
seen  in  the  tops  of  tall  trees,  but  sometimes  ascends 
their  trunks  for  quite  a  distance,  peering  beneath 
every  piece  of  loose  bark  and  entering  every  knot- 
hole through  which  it  can  squeeze  its  body,  in  search 
of  its  esteemed  spider  diet. 

The  nest  of  this  bird  is  a  bulky  structure,  composed 
of  strips  of  bark  and  corn  stalks,  grasses,  leaves  and 
fibrous  roots,  and  usually  lined  with  feathers,  corn 
silk,  or  horse  hairs.  It  is  placed  in  any  odd  nook  or 
cranny  that  its  owner  fancies,  such  as  the  cavity  of  a 
log  or  stump,  the  angle  of  a  fence  between  the  lower 
rails,  in  a  pile  of  logs  or  brush — anywhere,  in  fact,  that 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIEDS.  279 

offers  a  snug  retreat.  Often  it  is  arched  over  at  the 
top,  the  entrance  being  at  one  side  and  only  large 
enough  to  admit  the  builder.  The  eggs  are  five  to 
seven  in  number,  reddish-white,  thickly  spotted  with 
various  shades  of  brown,  and  measure  .73x.60  of  an 
inch.  There  are  two,  sometimes  three,  broods  each 
season,  but  many  of  the  young  fall  a  prey  to  carnivo- 
rous snakes,  weasels  and  small  owls. 

In  winter  the  sexes  separate;  each  pre-empts  for 
itself  a  certain  territory  as  a  forage  field,  and  woe 
betide  any  feathered  form  of  moderate  size  which 
ventures  upon  its  chosen  domain.  As  Dr.  Abbott  has 
well  said  :  "  The  tenants  of  the  wild  woods  know  the 
wrens  full  well  and  usually  give  them  a  wide  berth. 
They  realize  that  they  are  petty  tyrants,  suffering  no 
intrusion  and  excusing  no  blunders ;  particularly  so 
when  something  has  gone  wrong  with  them ;  then  it 
is  a  word  and  a  blow,  and  the  blow  first.  Even  the 
hornets  stand  back  when  there  is  a  riot  in  wrendom." 

Thus  the  winter  days  of  our  wren  are  spent  in 
spider  hunting,  fighting  and  singing;  for  besides  the 
spring  call  and.  scolding  chirps  mentioned  above,  he 
has  many  other  notes,  some  of  which  are  as  varied 
and  pleasing  as  those  of  the  brown  thrush.  The 
nights  are  passed  in  hollow  rail  or  limb  of  tree,  and 
when  the  face  of  earth  is  clad  in  snow  and  ice  prob- 
ably the  major  part  of  many  a  day  is  spent  there  too, 
in  fasting  and  musing — if  a  bird  can  muse — o'er  the 
victories  won  in  the  past  and  the  battles  to  be  fought 
in  the  future. 

*** 

Wishing  to  reward   the   one   I   had   seen   with  a 


280  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Christmas  repast,  I  turned  over  a  large  log,  on  the 
under  side  of  which  were  a  colony  of  ants  and  a  num- 
ber of  fine  fat  grubs;  then,  slipping  around  the  fallen 
beech  under  whose  limbs  he  had  dodged,  I  started 
him  towards  the  uncovered  feast.  After  some  maneu- 
vering he  reached  the  log,  espied  the  menu — and  then, 
how  he  fed  !  Turkey,  mince  pie,  cranberry  sauce,  and 
all,  those  grubs  and  ants  were  to  him,  and  thus,  in 
part,  I  paid  him  back  for  his  morning  song. 

VI. 

The  subject  of  the  present  sketch,  the  winter  wren, 
is  one  of  the  smallest,  and  to  my  mind  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  fifty  or  more  species  which 
pass  the  cold  season  in  this  latitude.  The  diminutive 
size  of  the  bird,  its  quick  motions,  and  especially  its 
brown  color,  resembling  so  closely  that  of  the  dead 
leaves  and  grass  among  which  it  flits,  cause  it  to 
remain  unseen,  unsuspected,  and  often 

quite  unknown  to  the  ordinary  rambler 
Winter  Wren.  J 

in  the  wroods.      .Even    the  naturalist, 

with  trained  eye  and  ear  ever  open  to  listen  to  nature's 
sounds,  counts  that  day  a  fortunate  one  when  he 
catches  a  glimpse  of  the  little  creature  as  it  hops  or 
flits  close  to  the  ground,  in  and  out  of  a  fence  corner, 
or  from  side  to  side  of  a  brush  pile  or  log  heap.  For 
it  possesses  the  wrennish  peculiarity  of  being  ever  on 
the  go,  and  although  it  rarely  uses  its  wings  except 
for  a  short  flutter  from  one  bush  or  angle  of  fence  to 
another,  yet  it  hops  slyly  and  rapidly  about,  appearing 
perhaps  for  an  instant,  then  suddenly  lost  to  view. 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIBDS.  281 

When  thus  engaged  in  active  search  for  insect  life, 
and  I  never  saw  one  of  them  otherwise,  its  bit  of  a  tail 
is  somewhat  spread  out  and  raised  almost  perpendicu- 
larly over  the  back  ;  the  neck  is  bent  forward  and  the 
straight  bill  stuck  out  ahead ;  thus  giving  the  little 
bird  a  most  determined  and  inquisitive  air. 

The  length  of  the  winter  wren  is  not  over  four 
inches  from  point  of  bill  to  tip  of  tail.  The  bill  is 
very  straight,  slender  and  conical.  The  tail  is  shorter 
than  the  wings,  which  reach  to  its  middle.  In  color 
the  body  is  deep  reddish-brown  above;  the  brown 
being  everywhere,  except  on  head  and  middle  of  back, 
transversely  barred  with  dusk}7.  Below  it  is  pale 
„ reddish  brown,  sharply  barred  on  the  posterior  half 
with  dusky.  A  line  over  the  eye,  some  obscure 
streaks  on  the  sides  of  head  and  neck,  and  some  bars 
on  the  outer  wing  feathers  are  whitish. 

Other,  common  names,  besides  "winter  wren,"  are 
"bunty    wren 
and  "little  log 
wren/'    while 
the  long  Latin 
name  is  Troglo- 
dytes hi  em,  alls 
Vieillot,  the 
first    part    of 
which    means 

"Cave  dweller"  Fig.  78— AVinter  Wren.    (After  Coues.) 

and  the  last  "wintry." 

Within  the  past  five  years  I  have  seen  twenty  or 
more  specimens  of  this  little  wren  between  the  months 
of  October  and  April,  yet  I  have  never  heard  one  of 


282  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

them  utter  other  sound  than  an  occasional  chuckle 
like  the  syllables  "puiq-qudf"  or  a  low  wren-like 
chirr,  when  startled  or  frightened.  They  are  most 
common  in  Indiana  during  the  spring  and  fall  migra- 
tions, as  large  numbers  of  them  spend  the  winter 
farther  southward,  and  must,  therefore,  pass  through 
this  region  on  the  way  to  and  from  their  summer 
homes.  They  nest  in  the  pine  forests  of  Wisconsin, 
Michigan  and  British  America,  especially  in  damp, 
swampy  regions,  where  the  ground  is  covered  with 
fallen  trees  and  logs,  piled  upon  one  another  and 
covered  with  rich  moss. 

••In  such  a  place  the  male  is  said  to  sing  most  exqui- 
sitely, one  author  describing  its  song  as  :  "Very  lively 
and  hurried,  the  notes  seeming  to  tumble  over  one 
another  in  the  energy  with  which  the/ are  poured  out. 
They  are  full  of  power,  though  many  are  shrill,  and 
are  garnished  with  many  a  gay  trill ;  in  some  passages 
reminding  one  of  the  Canary  bird's  song,  though 
infinitely  finer."  Audubon,  that  prince  of  American 
ornithologists,  appears  also  to  have  been  enchanted 
with  the  song  as  the  following  words  will  testify : 
"  The  song  of  the  little  winter  wren  excels  that  of  any 
bird  of  its  size  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  It  is 
truly  musical, full  of  cadence,  energetic  and  melodious  ; 
its  very  continuance  is  surprising,  and  dull  indeed 
must  be  the  ear  that  thrills  not  on  hearing  it." 

The  nest  is  placed  in  cavities  about  the  roots  of 
stumps  or  in  the  tangled  piles  of  fallen  trees  and 
branches.  It  is  composed  of  small  twigs  interwoven 
with  moss  and  lichens  and  lined  with  the  feathers  of 
other  birds  or  with  rabbit  hair  which  the  bird  has 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  283 

picked  up  in  the  vicinity  of  its  home.  The  eggs  are 
five  or  six  in  number,  pure  crystal  white,  spotted 
with  bright  reddish-brown,  and  measure  .67x.48  of 
an  inch. 

During  the  winter,  while  the  woodpeckers,  nut- 
hatches, titmice  and  chickadees  are  fast  lessening  the 
hordes  of  insects  which  inhabit  the  trunks  and  limbs 
of  trees,  the  wrens  are  doing  the  same  good  work 
among  the  logs  and  stumps  close  to  the  ground. 
There  they  have  less  competition,  and  so  find  the 
struggle  for  existence  less  deadly  than  they  Avould 
higher  up  among  their  larger  arboreal  kin.  Thus,  in 
the  course  of  time,  each  form  of  bird  has  found  for 
itself  that  place  in  the  realm  of  nature  best  suited  to 
its  existence ;  and  there,  most  often,  do  we  find  it,  ever 
on  the  search  for  its  favorite  food  and  ever  on  the 
alert  to  prevent  itself  being  eaten  by  some  animal 
higher  in  the  scale  of  life. 

VII. 

The  avian  or  bird  fauna  of  Indiana  has  been  modi- 
fied in  many  respects  by  the  presence  of  the  white  man 
and  his  progressive  civilization.  The  Carolina  paro- 
quet and  ivory-billed  woodpecker,  once  frequent  in 
our  forests,  have  receded  before  his  advance,  and,  like 
the  Indian,  buffalo,  bear,  elk  and  deer,  are  gone  for- 
ever. Only  in  the  densely  wooded  districts  of  the 
southern  and  south-western  States  do  these  two  noble 
birds  still  exist.  Even  there  their  numbers  are  con- 
stantly lessening,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  best  judges, 
a  quarter  of  a  century  hence  they  will  be  known  only 


284  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

in  museums  and  in  literature.  The  pileated  wood- 
pecker or  log-cock,  once  abundant  and  second  only 
to  the  ivory-bill  in  size  and  beauty,  is  also  nearly  ex- 
tinct in  this  State,  occurring  in  small  numbers  only 
in  the  densely  wooded  portions  of  the  southern  coun- 
ties. Wild  pigeons,  formerly  so  numerous  that  flocks 
of  them  were  visible  in  the  air  for  hours  at  a  time,  are 
no  longer  seen;  while  wild  turkeys,  once  the  source 
of  many  a  day's  exciting  sport,  have  almost  wholly 
disappeared.  Many  species  of  hawks  and  owls  are 
becoming  scarce  on  account  of  the  unmitigated  and 
senseless  warfare  waged  against  them  by  persons 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  good  these  birds  do  in  preying 
upon  the  hordes  of  smaller  mammals  and  larger  in- 
jurious insects. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  well  known  bird,  the  quail 
or  bob-white,  was  probably  absent  or  confined  to  but 
few  localities  in  the  State  at  the  time  of  its  first  settle- 
ment, and  has  steadily  increased  in  numbers  as  the 
forest  has  been  cleared  away.  The  lark-finch,  a  hand- 
some member  of  the  sparrow  tribe,  has  made  its  way 
in  from  the  plains  and  prairies  of  the  west  and  has 
spread  eastward  as  far  as  the  Alleghanies.  Its  con- 
gener, the  dick-cissel  or  black-throated  bunting — once 
rare — now  rolls  forth  at  June  time  its  characteristic 
warble  from  the  borders  of  every  clover  or  grain  field 
in  the  State ;  while  that  pestiferous  alien,  the  English 
sparrow,  an  enforced  immigrant  from  good  Great 
Britain,  has  multiplied  by  countless  thousands  within 
the  past  decade. 

Many  other  instances  of  decrease  or  increase  in  the 
number  of  birds,  caused  either  directly  or  indirectly 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS. 


285 


by  the  settlement  of  the  country,  could  be  given,  but 
let  us  now  note  a  few  of  the  changes  in  habits  which  our 
native  birds  have  adopted  since  the  white  man  came — 
and  so  lead  up  to  one  discovery  in  particular  which 
the  shrikes  or  butcher  birds  have  made  and  put  to  use. 


f 

Fig.  79— Dick-cissel  or  Black-throated  Bunting.    (After  Judd.) 

The  chimney  swifts,  before  the  advent  of  civilized 
man,  nested  and  roosted  in  hollow  trees,  but  these 
trees  becoming'  scarce  and  chimneys  frequent,  and 
possibly  more  to  their  liking,  they  in  time  forsook, 
almost  wholly,  the  former  for  the  latter. 


286  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Woodpeckers,  before  the  settlement  of  the  prairies, 
were  confined  to  forest  areas  on  account  of  a  lack  of 
suitable  nesting  places ;  but  they  ha*ve  discovered  that 
the  cornices  of  buildings,  church  steeples,  telegraph 
poles  and  even  rotten  fence  posts,  will,  with  a  little 
labor,  furnish  a  lodging  place  for  eggs,  and  so  they 
have  spread  far  and  wide  over  the  treeless  regions  of 
the  western  States.  Bank  swallows  have  utilized  for 
nesting  places  the  artificial  roadbeds  of  railways  in 
some  of  the  flatter  counties  of  the  State,  and  hence 
their  presence  in  such  regions  does  not  antedate  that 
of  .the  "iron  horse." 

Many  rapacious  birds,  as  the  smaller  hawks,  owls 
and  kingfishers,  since  the  clearing  away  of  the  forests, 
use  the  top  of  telegraph  poles  as  resting  places  from 
whence  they  can  swoop  down  upon  such  unfortunate 
prey  as  may  come  within  their  vision;  while  blue 
birds  and  swallows,  in  lieu  of  a  better  resting  place, 
often  line  themselves  along  the  wire  and  twitter  and 
chirp  to  one  another,  wholly  unconscious  of  that  elec- 
tric force  which  is  propelling  the  thoughts  of  man  at 
lightning  speed  along  the  slender  thread  beneath  their 
feet. 

But  the  shrikes  or  butcher  birds  have  put  to  use 
another  device  of  man,  and  in  a  peculiar  manner : 
namely,  the  barbs  upon  the  barbed  wire  fences  as  spikes 
upon  which  to  impale  their  prey.  For  the  shrikes  are 
the  bushwhackers  among  birds.  No  others  are  so 
notorious  for  cruelty  and  rapacity.  Not  only  for  food, 
but  apparently  for  the  gratification  of  a  blood-thirsty 
instinct,  they  kill  forms  of  life  beneath  them  merely 
as  a  means  of  killing  time.  They  alone  of  all  birds 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  287 

impale  their  victims  upon  sharp  pointed  projections. 
Their  food  consists  of  mice,  small  birds,  snakes,  beetles 
and  grasshoppers.  Formerly  these  birds  visited  only 
low-ground  thickets  where  crab-apple,  haw-thorn  and 
honev-locust  or  "  thorn-trees  "  abounded,  upon  whose 
sharp  twigs  and  thorns  they  hung  their  victims.  But 
since  the  advent  of  the  barbed  wire  fences  the  shrikes 
have  appeared  everywhere  along  upland  fields,  finding 
in  the  sharp,  stiff  barbs  just  the  kind  of  an  impaling 
spike  they  wish.  Why  the  prey  is  thus  hung  on 
thorn  or  barb  has  not,  as  yet,  been  satisfactorily 
explained,  for  it  seems  that  objects  so  impaled  are 
afterwards  seldom  touched  by  the  bird. 

Two  species  of  shrikes  inhabit  Indiana.  One,  the 
logger-head  shrike, Lanius  htdovicianusl^.^is  a  summer 
resident,  arriving  from  the  south  about  April  1st  and 
departing  thither  about  mid-October.  This  is  the 
species  which  impales  so  many  grasshoppers  and 
beetles  along  the  wire  fences  during  the  summer  and 
autumn.  On  one  October  day  I  gathered  fully  a  pint 
of  such  impaled  insects  from  a  fence  row  half  a  mile 
long,  and  found  that  they  represented  sixteen  species ; 
eight  of  grasshoppers,  two  of  katydids,  and  six  of 
beetles,  all  injurious,  so  that  this  bird,  although  sav- 
age and  bloodthirsty,  is  of  great  benefit  to  the  farmer 
and  fruit  grower. 

No  sooner  has  the  logger-head  departed  for  the 
south,  than  its  cousin,  the  great  northern  shrike, 

arrives  from  the  north  to  spend  the 
The  Great  .    .  .,, 

Northern  Shrike.  Wlllter  Wlth  us'     In  general  appear- 
ance this  latter  species  closely  resem- 
bles that  exquisite  singer,  the  southern  mocking  bird ; 


288  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

but  the  shrike  is  readily  distinguished  by  its  more 
bulky  form  and  its  much  stronger  hooked  and  notched 
bill.  In  size  it  is  about  the  same  as  the  common 
robin,  measuring  9J  inches  from  tip  of  bill  to  end  of 
tail.  Above,  the  general  color  is  a  clear  bluish  ash, 
somewhat  paler  on  the  rump.  Below,  it  is  a  dirty 
white,  everywhere  crossed  with  fine,  wavy  blackish 
lines.  The  quills  of  wing  and  tail  and  a  broad  bar 
along  the  side  of  head  are  black ;  while  a  white  spot 
is  situated  upon  the  lower  half  of  each  wing. 

The  northern 
shrike  nests 
only  in  British 
America, but  in 
i  winter  ranges 
southward  to 
about  latitude 
36  decrees.  Its 

Fig.  80— Great  Northern  Shrike.    (After  Coues.) 

scientific   name 

is  Lanius  borealis  Vieillot,  from  two  Latin  words 
meaning  " butcher"  and  "of  the  north."  During 
severe  winters  these  birds  often  appear  about  the 
suburbs  of  cities  and  prey  upon  the  English  sparrows, 
and  sometimes  become  so  bold  as  to  fly  into  open 
windows  and  attack  a  canary,  even  in  the  presence  of 
human  beings.  By  the  Germans  they  are  often  called 
neuntodter  or  "nine  killers,"  from  the  belief  that  they 
catch  and  hang  up  nine  mice  or  nine  sparrows  each 
day. 

They  are  treacherous  birds  and  use  many  devices  to 
get  within  striking  distance  of  their  prey.  Dr.  Abbott 
has  well  described  their  actions  as  follows  :  "  I  remem- 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  289 

ber  one,  demure  as  a  scheming  crow,  with  eyes  half 
shut  and  with  not  a  trace  of  treachery  or  cunning  in 
his  face.  His  blue  and  white  plumage,  tastefully 
trimmed  with  black,  made  him  conspicuous,  but  he 
lessened  the  ill  effects  of  this  by  the  manner  he  assumed. 
No  bird,  however  timid,  would  step  aside  for  such  as 
he.  Indeed,  they  perched  upon  the  same  branch  of 
the  tree  he  was  on,  almost  upon  the  same  twig,  and — 
where  was  he  ? 

"Like  a  flash  the  shrike  had  disappeared,  and  now, 
fifty  paces  distant,  he  is  perched  upon  another  tree, 
plucking  feathers  from  a  kinglet's  head  and  regaling 
himself  with  his  victim's  brains." 

Shrikes  seldom  sing.  On  a  sunny  December  day, 
I  was,  however,  favored  by  the  song  of  a  butcher 
bird.  I  was  on  the  lookout  for  him  for  I  had  found 
a  sharp-nosed  shrew-mouse  hanging  on  a  barbed  wire 
fence,  and  knew  that  a  shrike  had  its  winter  quarters 
in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Suddenly  a  bull-headed 
bird,  with  chops  muffled  in  black,  sprang  from  a  fallen 
thorn  tree  to  a  wild  cherry  in  a  near-by  corner  of  the 
rail  fence,  and  I  knew  that  the  butcher  was  in  my 
presence.  Eyeing  me  furtively  for  some  time  he 
jumped  from  branch  to  branch  towards  the  top  until 
finally  he  reached  the  uppermost  twig  when  suddenly 
he  uttered  four  sharp  notes.  They  were  much  like 
the  warning  cry  of  a  cock  when  he  discovers  a  hawk 
or  large  bird  in  the  air — "err — err — err — err."  Then, 
after  an  interval  of  a  few  seconds,  he  began  a  song 
which  was  continued  for  at  least  five  minutes.  It  was 
uttered  in  a  joyful  manner  but  at  the  most  was  a 
monotonous  ditty,  a  " puit-tuit-toot-e-ree,  puit"  etc. 
19 


290  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

During  the  singing  he  gazed  attentively  at  me  as  if 
seeking  to  note  the  effect  of  his  music,  taking  no 
notice  of  the  wrens  and  sparrows  which  were  flitting 
about  in  the  fallen  thorn.  As  I  stepped  towards  the 
tree  on  which  he  was  perched  he  uttered  a  harsh  note, 
a  shriek  of  protest,  as  it  were,  at  my  intrusion ;  then 
giving  two  or  three  vigorous  strokes  with  the  wings, 
he  folded  these  organs  close  against  his  body,  and, 
with  a  peculiar  gliding  motion,  passed  swiftly  into  a 
bushy  oak  shrub  a  hundred  yards  away. 

VIII. 

The  student  of  nature  soon  learns  to  notice  the 
interdependence  existing  among  all  forms  of  living 
objects.  All  animals  are  wholly  dependent  upon 
plants  for  their  existence,  for  plants  alone  can  change 
inorganic  matter — earth,  air  and  water — into  starch, 
sugar  and  other  organic  food-stuffs  for  animals. 
Plants  alone  can  collect  and  store  up  in  these  foods 
the  radiant  energy  of  the  sun's  heat  and  light,  and  so 
transmit  it  to  the  animals  within  whose  bodies  it  is 
changed  into  animal  force  and  used  as  nervous,  mus- 
cular and  gland  power  to  perform  the  duties  of  ani- 
mal life. 

On  the  other  hand  plants  receive  many  benefits 
from  animals.  Insects  carry  the  pollen  from  flower 
to  flower  and  so  aid  in  the  fertilization  and  cross  fer- 
tilization of  the  plants.  To  bring  about  the  visitation 
of  insects  to  the  reproductive  parts  or  anthers  on 
which  the  pollen  is  produced,  the  plants  have  developed 
honey  secreting  glands  about  the  base  of  the  anthers 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  291 

and  then  surrounded  them  by  showy  petals  so  that 
the  insects  may  readily  find  their  way  to  the  honey 
and  in  their  search  for  it  unconsciously  scatter  the 
pollen.  In  this  way  all  the  showy  parts  of  flowers 
have  originated. 

Again,  birds  and  plants  are  mutually  dependent, 
the  birds  feeding  upon  the  fruits  of  the  plants  and  in 
turn  scattering  or  distributing  the  indigestible  seeds 
far  and  wide  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  Indeed,  all 
the  fleshy  parts  of  fruits  have  in  time  been  developed 
around  the  seeds  for  the  sole  purpose  of  bringing 
about  the  distribution  of  the  latter.  Man  gathers 
apples,  oranges,  or  apricots  from  the  tree  for  the 
sake  of  the  flesh  or  pulp,  not  for  the  seeds ;  but  in 
getting  the  pulp  he  carries  the  seed  far  away  from 
the  parent  tree.  Cherries,  raspberries,  strawberries 
and  many  of  the  fruits  of  wild  plants  are  very  attrac- 
tive to  the  palate  of  birds,  and  the  latter  are  there- 
fore the  chief  agents  in  the  distribution  of  these  fruit 
producing  plants. 

Among  our  frugivorous  birds  the  cedar  bird  or 
cherry  bird  ranks  pre-eminent  for  the  great  variety 
of  wild  fruits  which  it  eats.  This  bird  is  a  perma- 
nent resident  in  Indiana,  but  is  most  abundant  during 
the  spring  and  fall  migrations  as  many  of  them  spend 
the  winter  farther  southward.  It  is  almost  always 
seen  in  flocks,  usually  from  forty  to  a  hundred  together. 
It  has  no  song  and  no  gaudy  colors,  yet  from  the 
-  delicacy  and  softness  of  its  plumage  it 

is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  birds ;  and 
Cedar  Bird. 

during  the  craze  for  feather  ornamen- 
tation, w-hich  was  so  prevalent  a  few  years  ago,  and 


292 


GLEANING  IS  FROM  NATUBE. 


which  still  exists  among  certain  stages  of  society,  the 
cedar  bird  was  one  of  the  most  common  species  seen 
on  women's  hats. 

In  length  it  measures  about  seven  inches  from  point 
of  bill  to  tip  of  tail.  Above,  the  general  color  is  a 
cinnamon-brown,  paling  to  slaty  ash  on  the  wings  and 


Fig.  81— Cedar  Bird.    (After  Beal.) 

tail,  the  feathers  of  the  latter  being  tipped  with  a  band 
of  yellow.  A  broad  .stripe  of  black  passes  from  Ihe 
nostrils  back  along  the  side  of  the  head,  and  the  chin 
and  forehead  are  also  black.  The  tips  of  some  of  the 
wing  feathers,  and  sometimes  also  of  the  tail  feathers, 
bear  little  oval,  flat,  leaf-like  appendages  which  re- 
semble red  sealing  wax  ;  while  the  head  is  ornamented 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  293 

with  a  conspicuous  crest  which  can  be  raised  or  low- 
ered at  pleasure. 

The  wax-like  tips  on  the  wing  feathers  are  only 
prolongations  of  the  shafts  with  curiously  formed  pig- 
ment cells  containing  an  abundance  of  red  and  yellow 
coloring  matter.  Their  presence  gives  rise  to  two 
common  names,  other  than  those  given  above,  by 
which  the  bird  is  known,  namely :  cedar  wax-wing 
and  Carolina  wax-wing.  The  scientific  name  is 
Ampelis  cedrorum  (Vieillot),  meaning  "  fruit  eater," 
and  "  of  the  cedars ;"  as  one  of  the  favorite  foods  of 
the  bird  is  the  cedar  or  juniper  berries  so  common  in 
some  localities. 

The  cedar  bird,  like  many  human  beings,  lives  to 
eat.  Although  an  abundant  species  throughout  the 
State  it  is  so  capricious  in  its  movements  that  its 
presence  or  absence  in  a  certain  locality  appears  to 
bear  no  relation  to  season  or  weather,  the  question 
of  food  supply  alone  being  probably  the  controlling 
influence  in  its  wanderings.  It  feeds  on  cherries, 
both  wild  and  cultivated — whence  its  name,  "  cherry 
bird" — on  the  berries  of  the  sour  gum,  dogwood, 
bitter-sweet  and  pokeweed,  and  will  often  so  gorge 
itself  with  these  as  to  be  almost  unable  to  fly.  When- 
ever a  flock  alights  in  a  tree  bearing  their  chosen  food 
they  sit  for  a  time  motionless  and  erect  like  parrots ; 
then,  by  a  movement  of  the  head,  each  one  takes  a 
survey  of  his  immediate  surroundings,  after  which,  one 
by  one,  they  proceed  to  the  chief  business  of  their  lives. 

In  spring  and  summer,  before  the  ripening  of  the 
fruit  and  berries,  this  bird  is  of  great  benefit  to  the 
farmer,  as  it  then  devotes  itself  almost  entirely  to 


294  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE . 

catching  insects.  It  is  an  expert  fly  catcher,  and  may 
oftqn  be  seen  perched  upon  a  dead  twig  near  the  top 
of  some  tall  tree  from  which  it  makes  its  graceful  and 
successful  flights  after  the  different  insects  passing 
near.  In  this  way  it  repays  more  than  twenty  fold 
for  the  cherries  it  later  on  devours. 

The  cedar  birds  are  noted  for  their  extreme  socia- 
bility and  even  fondness  for  their  kind.  They  are 
among  the  few  birds  which  appear  to  be  permanently 
gregarious,  i.  e.,  always  found  in  flocks.  They  build 
their  nests  very  late  in  the  season,  sometimes  not  till 
the  middle  of  July,  and  are  seen  in  flo.cks  up  to  that 
time.  Several  nests  are  often  constructed  in  the  same 
tree  and  usually  all  those  of  the  same  flock  are  built 
within  the  compass  of  a  few  rods.  The  nest  is  a 
bulky  structure  composed  of  many  materials,  such  as 
bark,  roots,  twigs,  paper,  rags  and  twine,  and  lined 
with  the  finer  grasses,  hair  and  wool.  The  eggs  are 
three  to  six  in  number  and  are  slate  brown  marked 
with  many  purple  or  dark  brown  blotches. 

The  sociability  of  these  birds  is  kept  up  during  the 
five  or  six  weeks  that  they  are  held  in  one  locality  by 
the  care  of  their  young  and  when  the  latter  are  ready 
to  leave  the  nest  they  remain  with  their  parents. 

On  a  recent  January  morn  my  attention  was 
attracted  to  a  flock  of  birds  which  was  continually 
flying  from  some  trees  to  the  margin  of  a  small  pond 
and  back  again.  I  moved  slowly  towards  them  and 
found  them  to  be  cedar  birds  which  were  feeding  upon 
the  fruit  of  the  hackberry,  Celtis  occidentalis  L.  They 
were  working  rapidly  and  tearing  at  the  berries  so 
eagerly  that  as  many  fell  to  the  ground  as  were  eaten. 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  295 

About  every  five  minutes  a  dozen  or  more  members 
of  the  nock  would  sweep  in  an  easy  and  undulating 
but  swift  flight  to  the  margin  of  the  pond  and  after 
drinking  would  fly  again  to  their  feast.  They  made 
no  sound  except  an  occasional  lisping  tsip  in  a  low 
tone.  •  Occasionally  one  would  be  overcome  with 
curiosity  and  would  fly  to  the  branch  of  the  neigh- 
boring tree  under  which  I  stood  and  peer  down  at 
me,  moving  his  head  from  side  to  side  while  his  eyes 
seemed  to  sparkle  with  excitement ;  then  back  he  would 
go  again,  showing  as  he  flew  the  waxen  tips  on  his  pri- 
maries and  the  bright  yellow  border  on  his  tail  feathers. 

I  envied  them  their  food,  plucked  from  the  tree  on 
which  it  grew,  and  therefore  free  from  adulteration 
of  any  kind;  sweet,  resembling  a.  black  haw  in  taste; 
the  only  drawback  being  that  the  pulp  or  nutritious 
part  is  very  small  in  proportion  to  the  bulk  of  the 
seed.  But  the  former  is  sufficient  in  quality  and  quan- 
tity to  attract  the  birds  and  therefore  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  the  hackberry ;  and  perhaps  many  a  Celtis 
will  owe  its  future  existence  to  the  'visitation  of  the 
flock  of  cedar  birds  seen  by  me ;  the  seed  being  dropped 
in  some  distant  place  where  its  chances  for  life  and 
growth  will  be  a  thousand  fold  greater  than  if  it  had 
fallen  to  the  earth  beneath  the  parent  tree. 

IX. 

Many  of  the  natural  haunts  of  our  winter  birds, 
which  formerly  existed  within  easy  reach  of  the  city, 
have  disappeared.  As  a  consequence  the  birds  them- 
selves are  yearly  becoming  less  frequent  in  number. 


296 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


I  have  in  mind  a  wooded  tract,  of  probably  100 
acres,  which  a  few  years  ago  was  thickly  grown  up  to 
under-brush  and  contained  many  fallen  trees.  There, 
on  any  day  in  winter,  one  could  find  twenty  or  more 
species  of  birds,  on  the  trees,  in  the  brush  piles,  or  on 
the  ground,  each  one  seeking  its  food  according  to  its 
adaptations.  Not  only  birds  but  many  other  forms 


Fig.  82— Brown  Thrush.    (After  Judd.) 

of  living  things,  such  as  snails,  reptiles,  batrachians, 
arid  insects  of  varied  size  and  shape,  found  a  congenial 
home  within  the  borders  of  those  woods.  But, 
although  they  belong  to  a  wealthy  family  who  could 
well  afford  to  have  spared  them,  to-day  all  is  changed. 
Every  brush  pile  where  in  summer  nested  the  brown 
thrush  and  Carolina  wren ;  every  log  beneath  which 
the  plodding  snail,  spotted  salamander  or  white- 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  297 

footed  mouse  found  shelter;  every  shrub  and  weed 
on  whose  leaves  and  flowers  beetles  and  butterflies  of 
brilliant  hue  had  been  wont  to  feed,  are  cleared  away. 
The  broad  and  level  sward  with  its  unbroken  carpet 
of  Kentucky  blue-grass  no  doubt  presents  an  attrac- 
tive appearance  to  the  eyes  of  the  rich  owner;  but 
the  tenants  of  yore,  which  to  him  were  unknown  or 
despised,  though  some  of  them  for  many  years  had 
been  his  helpful  friends — what  of  them? 

To  my  mind  they  were  the  rightful  owners  of  the 
land.  Back  in  preglacial  times,  before  the  overflow 
from  a  giant,  melting,  bulk  of  ice  had  carved  out  the 
broad  valley  to  the  westward — back  then,  and  even 
before — the  first  insects,  birds  and  mammals  "  entered  " 
this  tract  of  land  and  began  on  it  a  struggle  for  exist- 
ence. There,  for  year  on  year  and  century  on  century, 
has  this  struggle  continued,  and  though  the  home  and 
happiness  of  many  of  the  contestants  were  destroyed 
by  the  clearing  up  of  the  under-brush,  yet  it  still  con- 
tinues. Nor  will  it  wholly  end  until  the  advancing 
city  will  have  encroached  upon  the.  bounds  of  this 
domain  of  nature,  and  then  man,  proud,  artificial,  un- 
natural, will  forever  drive  out  the  rightful  denizens 
and  prove  himself  the  fittest  in  the  struggle. 

The  above  is  but  one  example  of  a  thousand  going 
on  everywhere  about  us.  To  produce  that  which  will 
bring  him  wealth — although  his  coffers  may  be  full  to 
overflowing — man  willingly  and  thoughtlessly  causes 
the  death  or  disappearance  of  manifold  forms  of  liv- 
ing things  and  creates  sad  havoc  with  the  true  beauty 
of  nature's  own.  Like  Thoreau,  I  exclaim  :  "  Thank 
God,  he  can  not  cut  down  the  clouds." 


298  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

Among  our  winter  birds  none  was  formerly  more 
familiar  than  the  so-called  "snow-bird"  or  slate  col- 
ored junco.  It  arrives  from  the  north  about  October 
the  15th  and  its  coming  is  always  a  precursor  of  the 
winter  that  is  to  be.  During  the  pleasant  weather, 
when  the  earth  is  bare,  it  seeks  the  shelter  of  such  wild- 
wood  tangles  as  the  one  above  mentioned.  There, 

scattered  among  the  leaves  and  on  the 
The  Snow=bird.    n      ,  „  ,& 

dead  stems  of  low  grasses  and  weeds, 

it  finds  its  favorite  food,  the  seeds  of  wild  plants, 
which  it  occasionally  varies  with  such  small  beetles 
or  grubs ^as  it  may  happen  upon.  But  when  such 
food  is  hidden  beneath  a  coating  of  ice  and  snow  the 
junco  has  to  retreat  from  its  thicket  stronghold  and 
then  it  comes  trooping  about  the  dooryards  and  barn- 
yards of  man,  ever  ready  to  pick  up  those  "crumbs 
of  comfort"  which  are  dropped  intentionally  or  other- 
wise in  such  places. 

The  snow-bird  belongs  to  the  great  family  of  Frin- 
gillidce  which  comprises  the  sparrows  and  finches,  38 
of  which  are  known  to  occur  in  Indiana,  17  of  them 
being  found  here  in  winter.  The  chief  character 
which  distinguishes  this  family  is  a  thick  cone-shaped 
bill  which  is  shorter  than  the  head  and  abruptly 
angulated  or  drawn  down  at  the  corners  of  the  mouth. 
With  this  they  can  crush  the  hard  outer  shell  of  most 
of  the  smaller  seeds  and  feed  upon  the  rich,  nutritious 
kernels  within.  The  English  sparrow  and  Canary 
bird  are  two  familiar  members  of  the  family. 

Although  seeds  form  the  main  diet  of  all  these  birds, 
yet,  in  early  spring  and  summer  when  seeds  are  scarce, 
they  turn  to  insect  life  to  furnish  them  sustenance ; 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS. 


299 


and  Prof.  S.  A.  Forbes  found  that  91  per  cent,  of  the 
food  of  47  sparrows  which  he  killed  in  an  orchard  in 
May,  was  composed  of  insects ;  four  per  cent,  being 
canker  worms,  which  are  so  injurious  to  the  foliage 
of  the  apple  tree.  Moreover,  the  young  of  the  17 
species  which  nest  in  the  State  are  fed  wholly  upon 
insect  food,  so  that,  all  in  all,  the  family  is  a  most 
beneficial  one 
to  our  husband- 
men. 

In  size  the 
snow-bird  is 
below  the  me- 
dium, measur- 
ing but  6J  inch- 
es in  length.  In 
color  it  is  a  uni- 
form ashy  or 
blackish  gray 
above,  some- 
what darker  on 
the  head.  Be- 
low, all  back  of 
the  breast  is 
pure  white,  as 
are  also  the  two  or  three  outer  feathers  of  the  tail. 
These  feathers  are  ever  a  sign  of  its  identity,  for  as  it 
flies  it  spreads  its  tail  enough  to  show  their  edges.  No 
other  bird  of  similar  size  possesses  them  except  the 
grass-finch  or  vesper  sparrow,  which  is  everywhere 
streaked,  both  above  and  below,  with  reddish-brown 
and  dusky. 


Fig.  83 — Snow-bird.     (After  Coues.) 


300  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

From  the  above  description  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
name  "  snow-bird,"  by  which  this  sparrow  is  so  com- 
monly known,  is  a  misnomer  as  far  as  color  is  con- 
cerned, and  was  probably  given  to  it  on  account  of  its 
habit  of  flocking  about  houses  and  barns  after  every 
snow  storm. 

Its  scientific  name  is  Junco  hiemalis  (L.),  from  two 
Latin  words  meaning  "a  rush"  and  "wintry."  The 
common  name,  "slate-colored  junco,"  which,  among 
naturalists,  is  coming  into  general  use,  is  sufficient  to 
properly  distinguish  it  from  other  members  of  the 
same  genus. 

While  the  snow-bird  is  known  to  every  one  in  the 
country  as  a  common  and  familiar  winter  resident, 
there  are  few  people  but  to  whom  its -coming  and 
going  is  a  mystery,  and  the  question  is  often  asked : 
"What  becomes  0f  the  snow-birds  in  summer,  and 
where  do  they  nest?"  Many  are  the  answers  given 
to  this  question  by  persons  who  know  little  or  nothing 
of  the  habits  of  birds.  A  common  belief,  and  one 
which  was  upheld  by  an  article  whicli  appeared  less 
than  a  dozen  years  ago  in  one  of  the  leading  news- 
papers of  this  State,  is,  that  our  common  sparrows, 
such  as  the  field  sparrow  and  grass-finch,  change  color 
in  fall,  becoming  snow-birds,  which  they  remain  until 
spring,  when  they  don  their  other  dress  and  again 
become  sparrows. 

The  question  is  easily  answered  by  any  one  who 
will  give  the  matter  a  little  thought.  The  snow-bird 
nests  from  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  northward,  and 
in  autumn  many  of  them  stop  with  us  to  spend  the 
winter  instead  of  all  going  farther  south  as  is  the 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  301 

case  with  so  many  birds.  This  makes  it  a  true  "  winter 
resident,"  of  which,  among  the  sparrows,  but  five 
occur  in  Indiana. 

While  here  the  snow-bird  is  always  seen  in  small 
bevies  or  family  groups,  never  singly.  A  true 
brotherly  and  sisterly  love  seems  to  animate  these 
groups.  Their  members  are  never  seen  quarreling 
among  themselves  as  is  so  common  an  occurrence 
with  their  pesky  cousins,  the  English  sparrows;  but 
when  one  is  crippled  or  ailing  all  the  others  vie  with 
each  other  in  carrying  food  to  it  and  giving  it  every 
needed  attention.  Their  ordinary  note  is  a  short, 
sharp,  emphatic  "chip",  rapidly  repeated  as  the  bird 
is  Hushed;  but  in  the  spring,  as  the  days  become 
warmer,  they  delight  to  sit  in  the  low  branches  of 
trees  and  sing  a  very  sweet,  suppressed  song,  as  if 
tuning  up  in  anticipation  of  the  coming  mating  in 
that  far  northern  country  for  which  .they  will  soon 
depart.  All  in  all,  though  dull  in  color  and  lacking 
in  brilliant  song,  these  little  snow-birds  have  many 
charming  habits,  well  worthy  the  study  of  any  one 
interested  in  our  feathered  friends.  Were  they  for- 
ever taken  from  our  midst  we  would  sadly  miss  them 
on  those  days  when  murky  clouds  o'erspread  the  sky 
and  snow  and  ice  enshroud  the  lap  of  earth. 

"Better  far,  ah  yes!  than  no  bird 
Is  the  ever-present  snow-bird  ; 
Gayly  tripping,  dainty  creature, 
Where  the  snow  hides  every  feature; 
Covers  fences,  field  and  tree, 
Clothes  in  white  all  things  but  thee; 
Restless,  twittering,  trusty  snow-bird, 
Lighter  heart  than  thine  has  no  bird:" 


302  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


X. 


While  tramping  through  woodland,  field  and 
meadow  in  search  of  "first  hand"  knowledge,  I  often 
think  of  the  many  riches  possessed  hy  the  farmer's 
son  which  he  wots  not  of.  His  father's  fields  have 
thousands  of  tenants  which  he  never  sees.  In  their 
proper  season  wild  flowers  of  brilliant  hue  and  delight- 
ful odor  bloom  all  about  him  yet  are  passed  unnoticed. 
Every  corner  of  the  old  Virginia  rail  fences  holds 
countless  treasures  of  brilliantly  colored  insects,  yet 
he  knows  only  the  six  or  eight  species  of  homely  ones 
which  are  especially  injurious  to  his  father's  crops. 
In  the  proper  season  the  orchards  and  woodlands  on 
the  old  homestead  are  full  of  sweet  singing  warblers 
and  vireos  whose  notes  and  plumage  may  be,  for  the 
time  being,  all  his  own ;  yet  he  sees  and  hears  them 
not.  The  rainbow  darter  and  its  cousin,  the  green- 
sided  darter,  swim  up  and  down  the  ripples  of  the 
brook  which  flows  through  the  wood's  pasture  of  his 
country  home,  yet  the  sunlight  which  they  reflect  from 
their  gilded  sides  ne'er  strikes  the  eyes  of  the  farmer's 
boy.  If  I  possess  treasures  I  wish  to  know  it  and  not 
pass  my  life  surrounded  by  them  and  yet  in  continual 
ignorance  of  their  presence. 

How  many  of  my  readers,  for  example,  whether 
reared  in  country  or  city,  have  ever  seen  a  cross-bill 
alive  ?  I  lived  upon  a  farm  until  I  was  of  age  and  did 
not  know  that  such  a  bird  existed  although  it  was 
probably  found  every  winter  within  a  mile  of  my 
home. 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS. 


303 


Like  the  snow-bird,  the  cross-bill  belongs  to  the 
great  family  of  Fringillidce,  whose  members  are  com- 
monly known  as  finches  and  sparrows — all  having  a 
thick  cone-shaped  beak  for  cracking 
seeds.  But  the  beak  of  the  cross-bill 
has,  in  time,  undergone  a  wonderful 
change,  or,  in  other  words,  has  become  adaptell  to  the 
habits  of  the  bird.  For,  instead  of  the  two  mandibles 


The  American 
Cross-bill. 


Fig.  84— American  Cross-bills.    (After  Coues.) 

meeting  on  a  level  as  in  other  finches,  the  upper 
curves  down  to  the  right  of  the  lower,  which  at  the 
same  time  curves  upward.  In  this  way  they  partly 
cross  one  another,  thus  giving  rise  to  the  common 
name  of  the  bird. 

The  bill  is  thus  fashioned  to  extract  the  seeds  of 
pines  and  other  similar  trees  from  the  cones,  and  the 
cross-bills,  by  the  great  strength  of  the  muscles  of  the 


304  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

jaw  and  these  strong,  oppositely  curved  mandibles, 
are  able  to  pry  open  the  tightly  appressed  scales  of 
the  cones  and  extract  at  pleasure  the  nutritious  oily 
seeds.  Other  birds  are  equally  fond  of  these  seeds, 
but  have  to  wait  for  the  alternate  thawing  arid  freez- 
ing of  spring  to  loosen  the  scales. 

In  size  the  cross-bill  is  somewhat  larger  than  the 
English  sparrow,  measuring  about  6J  inches  in  length. 
The  wings  are  very  long  and  pointed,  reaching  beyond 
the  middle  of  the  narrow,  forked  tail.  The  color  of 
the  bird  varies  greatly  according  to  sex  and  age.  The 
old  males  are  brick-red,  darkest  across  the  back,  and 
have  the  wings  and  tail  a  uniform  blackish-brown. 
The  females  of  all  ages  are  dull  greenish-olive  with  a 
yellowish  tinge  on  the  crown  and  rump;  while  the 
young  males  are  a  curious  mixture  of  brick-red, 
greenish-olive,  and  yellowish. 

There  are  two  species  of  cross-bills  occurring  in 
Indiana,  and  the  above  description  applies  to  the 
most  common  one  which  is  known  by  the  name  of 
the  American  or  red  cross-bill.  The  other  species  is 
the  white-winged  cross-bill  and  may  be  readily  dis- 
tinguished-by  the  presence  of  two  conspicuous  white 
bars  across  each  wing.  It  has  the  same  habits  as  the 
one  above  described,  but  has  been  noted  in  the  State 
only  on  a  few  occasions. 

The  scientific  name  of  the  American  cross-bill  is 
Loxia  curvirostra  L.,  from  two  Latin  words  meaning 
"crooked"  and  "curve-bill"  ;  while  that  of  the  white- 
winged  species  is  Loxia  leacoptera  Gmelin,  the  word 
"  leucoptera  "  meaning  "  white-wing."  Thus  the  scien- 
tific name  of  each  kind  of  plant  or  animal  is  often 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  305 

based  upon  some  important  and  noticeable  character 
possessed  by  the  species. 

Perhaps  no  birds  are  more  erratic  in  their  move- 
ments than  the  cross-bills.  They  appear  and  disappear 
from  a  given  locality  in  the  most  unexpected  manner. 
In  Indiana  they  are  most  likely  to  be  found  during 
severe  weather  in  January  and  February.  They  go 
in  flocks  of  from  six  to  forty  individuals,  usually  flying 
high  in  air  and  for  great  distances  at  a  time.  While 
on  the  wing  they  keep  up,  almost  continually,  a  loud 
clear  call  note,  which  is  quite  similar  to  that  made  by 
a  young  chicken  in  distress.  Always  alighting  in  the 
tops  of  pines  or  other  evergreen  trees,  each  individual 
chooses  a  cone  and  immediately  begins  to  extract  the 
seeds. 

While  thus  feeding  they  are  extremely  gentle  and 
social,  easily  approached,  and  may  even  be  knocked 
down  with  sticks.  In  the  old  barbarous  collecting 
days  I  have  shot  as  many  as  five  or  six  from  a  single 
tree  without  causing  the  remainder  of  the  flock  to  take 
flight.  The  two  species  are  alike  in  .all  their  habits, 
climbing  from  cone  to  cone  like  parrots,  head  down  or 
head  up  at  will;  twittering  as  they  feed  like  many 
other  sparrows ;  and  finally,  having  eaten  their  fill, 
with  one  impulse  they  hurry  out  of  sight,  to  be  gone, 
it  may  be,  until  another  year  rolls  by. 

They  nest  throughout  the  coniferous  forests  of  the 
northern  United  States  and  Canada  and  in  the  moun- 
tains of  the  southern  States,  notably  in  North  Caro- 
lina and  Tennessee.  A  few  of  the  young  of  the 
previous  season  either  remain  in  Indiana  throughout 
the  summer,  or  visit  here  at  that  season,  for  I  have 

20 


306  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

taken  them  in  Putnam  County  in  July,  but  no  well 
authenticated  record  of  their  nesting  in  the  State  lias, 
as  yet,  been  made. 

Among  the  superstitious  many  curious  legends  exist 
accounting  for  the  origin  of  certain  well  known  char- 
acters of  our  common  birds.  For  example,  the  red 
breast  of  the  robin  is  said  to  have  resulted  from  a 
habit  that  these  birds  had,  in  the  misty  past,  of  filling 
their  bills  with  water  which  they  carried  to  the  brink 
of  Hades  and  dropped  down  to  the  thirsty  unfortunates 
below,  their  breasts  meanwhile  becoming  scorched  by 
the  flames  from  the  infernal  regions.  In  like  manner 
the  curved  mandibles  of  the  cross-bills  are  accounted 
for  by  saying  that  these  merciful  birds  tried  to  pull 
the  nails  from  the  cross,  and  in  so  doing  twisted  their 
bills  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  always  bear  the 
symbol  of  their  good  deed. 

XI. 

When,  after  a  few  weeks  of  imprisonment  within 
the  city,  the  naturalist  goes  forth  to  make  new  friends 
among  the  denizens  of  the  wroods  and  fields,  the  pure 
country  air  has,  at  times,  a  curious  effect  upon  his 
mind,  causing  strange  thoughts  to  well  up  therein 
concerning  the  relations  of  man  to  the  animals  and 
plants  about  him,  and  especially  to  the  earth  itself. 
Thus,  on  one  of  the  pleasant  afternoons  of  late  Feb- 
ruary, as  I  tramped  over  a  wooded  knoll  east  of  the 
city,  I  found  myself  likening  the  earth  to  a  great 
round  animal,  moving  on  an  eternal  journey  through 
space,  and  of  mankind  as  mites,  preying  upon  its 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIRDS.  307 

back,  scratching  its  thick  rough  hide  with  their  tiny 
implements  of  toil  and  so  causing  it  to  yield  them  sus- 
tenance as  does  the  mite  or  tick  the  animal  it  lives 
upon; 

The  sight  of  the  smooth  lichen-covered  bole  of  a 
beech  caused  this  revery  to  vanish  and  I  began  to 
ponder  over  the  power  of  sunlight,  which,  after  trav- 
eling ninety  and  more  millions  of  miles,  had  built  up 
the  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen,  which  the  roots  and 
leaves  had  gathered,  into  thousands  of  pounds  of  solid 
wood  for  the  use  of  man.  Even  the  green  slime  or 
protococcus  found  on  the  north  side  of  the  tree  has  its 
part  to  bear  in  the  economy  of  nature.  For  it  is  com- 
posed of  myriads  of  little  cells,  each  a  complete  plant 
in  itself  and  one  of  nature's  disinfecting  organs; 
which,  by  the  aid  of  the  all  powerful  light  of  the  sun, 
takes  up  the  impure  carbon-dioxide  and  sets  free 
oxygen,  pure  and  invigorating,  for  man  and  beast. 

But  in  the  beech  were  birds,  forms  of  life  of  which 
I  was  primarily  in  search.  Two  species  there  were 
which  in  winter  are  almost  inseparable;  namely,  the 
tufted  titmouse  and  the  black-capped  chickadee.  Both 
are  permanent  residents,  that  is  they  are  found  here  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year  but  appear  most  abundant  in 
winter;  probably  because  the  trees  are  then  bare  and 
the  birds  can  be  more  readily  seen. 

Both  belong  to  the   same  family,  the  Paridce,  of 
which  we  have  but  five  species  in  Indiana;  namely, 
one  titmouse,  two  chickadees,  and  two 
nuthatches.     Of  these  the  tufted  tit- 
mouse is  the  largest  and  yet  it  is  be- 
low the  average  bird  in  size,  measuring  but  6J  inches 


308 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


in  length.  In  color  it  is  a  uniform  leaden-gray  above, 
except  a  narrow  streak  of  black  across  the  forehead. 
Below,  it  is  a  whitish  ash,  with  the  sides  tinged  with 
dull  reddish-brown.  The  feathers  of  the  head  are 
long,  and,  when  the  bird  is  excited  or  angry,  can  be 
raised  into  a  conspicuous  crest,  whence  the  common 
name  of  "  tufted  titmouse." 

From  the  black  bar  across  the  forehead  it  is  some- 
times called  the  black-front- 
ed titmouse,  while  its  Latin 
name  is  Parus  bicolor  L.,  the 
former  w^ord  meaning  "tit- 
mouse" and  the  latter  "of 
two  colors." 

In  winter  perhaps  no 
bird  is  more  abundant  in 
the  wooded  portions  of  the 
southern  half  of  Indiana, 
than  this  species.  Roving 
in  restless,  noisy  troops 
through  the  woods,  scolding 
at  every  intruder  and  calling  to  one  another  in  harsh 
tones,  it  soon  renders  itself  conspicuous  to  every  one 
who  is  beginning  to  take  an  interest  in  our  feathered 
fauna.  Its  ordinary  note  is  a  rather  monotonous 
"dee-dee-dee"  often  repeated  as  if  from  habit.  Its 
song  is  a  loud  clear  wrhistle  resembling  the  syllables 
" peto-petp~pet&"  uttered  in  a  defiant  tone,  as  if  chal- 
lenging all  other  birds  within  the  compass  of  its 
voice.  When  angry  it  raises  its  crest  and  utters  a 
series  of  chirps  which  appear  to  be  imitations  of 
the  notes  of  other  birds,  those  of  the  blue  jay  being 


Fig.  85-Head  of  Tufted 
Titmouse. 


TWELVE  WINTER  BIEDS.  309 

recognized.  While  searching  for  insect  food  it  moves 
by  short  sudden  leaps  and  flights  from  branch  to 
branch,  suspending  itself  readily  in  all  attitudes. 

When  forest  food  is  scarce  it  often  approaches  gar- 
dens and  orchards,  and  then  only  do  we  see  it  on  or 
close  to  the  ground,  ready  to  pick  or  tear  at  any  veg- 
etable or  animal  food  which  may  be  to  its  liking.  In 
summer  these  winter  bevies  separate ;.  and  each  pair 
seeks  some  natural  cavity  such  as  a  hollow  in  the  fork 
of  a  tree  or  a  deserted  hole  bored  by  a  woodpecker. 
This  is  lined  with  bits  of  moss,  leaves  and  grass,  and 
in  it  the  eggs,  four  to  six  in  number,  are  deposited. 
In  color  they  are  white,  sprinkled  with  reddish-brown 
and  lilac,  and  measure  .75x.56  of  an  inch. 


XII. 

The  black-capped  chickadee  is  a  better  known  bird 
than  the  tufted  titmouse,  its  colors  being  more  strik- 
ing and  its  habits  more  sociable  than  that  species. 

It  is  also  much  smaller,  measuring  but  five  inches 
from  point  of  beak  to  tip  of  tail.  The  crown,  nape, 
chin  and  throat  are  a  rich  glossy 
black,  and  contrast  strongly  with 
the  grayish  ash  of  the  remainder 
of  the  body. 

As   stated    above,    both    these 

birds      belong      to       Fig.  8G-Head  of  Black- 

01    7he  the   same    family        capped  Chickadee. 

Black  -capped 
Chickadee       anc*  even  to  the  same  genus,  so  that 

the  first  part  of  the  Latin  name,  Par  us 
atricapillus   L.,  is    the    same   for   both.     Atricapillus 


310  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

means  "black  haired,"  and  a  common  name,  perhaps 
as  much  used  as  the  one  mentioned,  is  "  black-capped 
titmouse."  It  was  of  this  fluffy  little  bird  in  its 
modest  dress  of  black  and  gray  that  Emerson  'wrote 
as  follows : 

11  This  poet,  though  he  live  apart, 
Moved  by  his  hospitable  heart, 
Sped,  when  I  passed  his  sylvan  fort, 
To  do  the  honors  of  his  court, 
As  fits  a  feathered  lord  of  land ; 
Flew  near,  with  soft  wing  grazed  my  hand, 
Hopped  on  the  bough,  then  darting  low, 
Prints  his  small  impress  on  the  snow, 
Shows  feats  of  his  gymnastic  play, 
Head  downward,  clinging  to  the  spray. 

Here  was  this  atom  in  full  breath, 
Hurling  defiance  at  vast  death  ; 
This  scrap  of  valor  just  for  play 
Fronts  the  north-wind  in  waistcoat  gray." 

He  is  indeed  a  joyful  little  creature,  flitting  ever 
about,  hither  and  thither,  clinging  to  the  side  of  a  tree 
one  minute  and  picking  at  the  moss  on  a  branch  the 
next.  His  ordinary  food  consists  of  the  insects  which 
hide  in  the  crevices  of  bark,  spiders'  eggs,  and,  per- 
haps, the  tender  buds  of  trees. 

His  winter  note  of  "tche-de-de — de-de"  is  the  one 
most  commonly  known,  but  in  spring  it  gives  way  to 
a  pleasing  "phe-be"  which  is,  perhaps,  his  vernal  love 
call. 

The  nest  is  built  in  a  dead  stump  or  tree  in  a  hole 
excavated  by  the  bird  itself.  The  eggs  are  white, 
sprinkled  with  reddish  brown  and  measure  .58x.47 
of  an  inch  in  size. 


TWELVE  WIN  TEE  BIRDS. 


311 


All  the  members  of  the  family  Paridce  delight  to 
wander  in  company  and  time  and  again  have  I  found 
all  five  of  them  within  an  area  of  a  few  square  rods. 
On  the  beech  tree  above  mentioned,  there  were,  how- 
ever, but  the  two  of  which  I  have  written,  "the  lordly 
tomtit,  with  his  jaunty  crest ;  the  merry  chickadee — 
the  former  making  the  woods  ring  with  his  earnest, 


Fig.  87— Bluebird.    (After  Deal.) 

invitation  to  ramble  therein:  here — here — here!  the 
latter  ever  winsome  as  it  chirped,  in  more  subdued 
tones,  chick- a- dee -dee — dee-dee;  winter  no  terror  has  for 
me — -for  me" 

On  the  same  afternoon  the  notes  of  many  other 
birds  were  heard ;  notably  the  ringing  quaver  of  the 
bluebird  again  and  again — the  first  symbol  of  the 
approaching  springtime  which  all  plants,  all  animals 


312  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

welcome  with  marks  and  notes  of  joy.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  a  great  awakening  which  once  each  year 
comes  to  all  animate  life.  A  few  of  the  insects,  plants, 
etc.,  hegan  that  day  to  rub  their  eyes  and  endeavor  to 
peep  forth  to  see  if  a  new  morning  was  really  begin- 
ning to  dawn.  A  few  days  of  such  weather  and  they 
will  begin  to  call  to  one  another  the  "good  morning" 
of  spring.  The  matin-song  or  call  was  that  of  the 
bluebird^.  The  hum  of  insect,  the  croak  of  frog  and 
the  clear  whistle  of  the  red-shouldered  blackbird  will 
soon  follow  in  regular  and  long  accustomed  order. 


HOW  PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  SPEND 
THE   WINTER.* 


One  of  the  greatest  problems  which  each  of  the  liv- 
ing forms  about  us  has  had  to  solve,  during  the  years 
of  its  existence  on  earth,  is  how  best  to  perpetuate  its 
kind  during  that  cold  season  which  once  each  year,  in 
our  temperate  zone,  is  bound  to  come.  Many  are  the 
solutions  to  this  problem.  Each  form  of  life  has,  as 
it  were,  solved  it  best  to  suit  its  own  peculiar  case,  and 
to  the  earnest  student  of  Nature  there  is  nothing  more 
interesting  than  to  pry  into  these  solutions  and  note 
how  varied,  strange,  and  wonderful  they  are. 

To  fully  appreciate  some  of  the  facts  mentioned 
below  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  "spontaneous  generation"  of  life.  Every 
cell  is  the  offspring  of  a  pre-existing  cell.  Nothing 
but  a  living  thing  can  produce  a  living  thing.  Hence 
every  weed  that  next  season  will  spring  up  and  pro- 
voke the  farmer's  ire,  and  every  insect  which  will 
then  make  life  almost  intolerable  for  man  or  beast, 
exists  throughout  the  winter  in  some  form. 

If  we  begin  with  some  of  the  lowly  plants,  such  as 
the  fresh-water  algae,  or  so-called  "frog-spittle"  of  the 
ponds,  and  many  of  the  rusts  and  fungi  which  are  so 
injurious  to  crops,  we  find  that  they  form  in  autumn 
"resting  spores."  These  are  very  small  and  globular, 

•"Popular  Science  Monthly, February,  1897. 
(313) 


314  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATVEE. 

one-celled  bodies,  having  a  much  thicker  coat  and 
denser  protoplasm  or  contents  than  are  found  in  the 
spores  often  produced  in  summer  by  the  same  plants, 
and  which  are  destined  for  immediate  growth.  The 
power  of  life  within  these  winter  resting  spores  is 
proof  against  the  severest  attacks  of  frost,  and  they 
lie  snugly  ensconced  in  the  mud  at  the  bottom  of  pond 
or  stream,  or  buried  beneath  the  leaves  in  some  shel- 
tered nook,  until  the  south  winds  of 

ii  White"1181  March  or  April  furnish  the  key  to 
unlock  the  castle  of  the  ice  king. 
Then  the  spirit  of  growth  within  each  spore  begins  to 
assert  itself  once  more,  and,  bursting  the  walls,  the 
contents  soon  produce  the  parent  or  summer  form  of 
the  plant  with  which  we  are  most  familiar.  Thus  the 
spores  which  the  next  season  will  produce  the  grape 
mildew  and  the  red  rust  of  wheat  exist  throughout 
the  winter — the  former  within  the  substance  of  the 
fallen  grape  leaf,  the  latter  within  the  stubble  or  about 
the  roots  of  the  last  season's  wheat  plants. 

If  the  grape  leaves  should  be  carefully  gathered 
and  burned,  and  the  stubble  destroyed  in  like  manner, 
not  only  would  the  next  season's  crop  of  these  two 
parasitic  plant  pests  be  wonderfully  lessened,  but 
many  injurious  insects  would  at  the  same  time  be 
destroyed. 

Higher  in  the  scale  of  plant  life  we  find  the  flower- 
ing annuals  bending  all  their  energies  during  the 
summer  to  produce  that  peculiar  form,  the  "  seed," 
which  is  only  a  little  plant  boxed  up  to  successfully 
withstand  the  rigors  of  winter.  The  great  sunflower, 
that  grows  into  a  giant  in  a  single  season  and  defies 


XIV. 


WINTER  BUDS. 

1.  Papaw. 

2.  Buckeye. 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER         315 

the  summer  sun  and  storm,  falls  an  easy  victim  to  the 
frosts  of  autumn.  It,  however,  prepares  the  way  for 
many  successors  in  the  ripened  seeds,  each  one  of 
which,  under  favorable  conditions,  will  germinate, 
grow,  reproduce  its  kind,  and  thus  complete  another 
cycle  in  the  realm  of  vegetable  life.  The  prospective 
life  and  activity  of  a  whole  field  of  next  summer's 
waving  corn  may  be  considered  as  stored  up  in  a  few 
pecks  of  comparatively  lifeless  seed  corn  safely  housed 
in  the  granary.  Within  its  two  protecting  coats  and 
surrounded  by  a  large  store  of  food,  in  the  form  of 
seed  leaf  or  nucleus,  to  be  used  when  growth  begins 
again,  each  little  plantlet  lives  and  survives  the  cold- 
est blasts  of  King  Boreas  and  his  cohorts. 

Note,  too,  the  buds  and  under-ground  stems  which 
will  furnish  the  beginning  of  next  season's  growth  of 
our  biennial  and  perennial  plants.  See  how  they  are 
protected  by  heavy  overcoats  in  the 
Winter  form  of  bud  scales.  Oftentimes,  too,  as 
in  the  hickory  and  "balm  of  Gilead" 
trees,  these  scales  have  a  coat  of  resin  or  gum  on  the 
outside  to  render  them  waterproof;  and  some,  as  those 
of  the  papaw,  are  even  fur-lined,  or  rather  fur-cov- 
ered, with  a  coating  of  soft  black  hairs.  Were  these 
protective  scales  not  present,  the  tender  shoots  within 
them,  which  will  furnish  the  nucleus  for  next  season's 
foliage,  would  be  seared  and  withered  by  the  first  frost 
as  quickly  as  though  touched  with  a  red-hot  iron. 

The  above  are  some  of  the  many  ways  in  which  our 
plants,  in  the  course  of  ages  and  many  changes  of 
environment,  have  solved  the  problem  of  surviving 
the  cold  of  winter.  Moreover,  they  always  prepare 


316  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

for  this  cold  in  time,  the  resting  spores  and  seeds 
being  ripened  and  the  bud  scales  formed  over  the  ten- 
der tips  of  the  branches  long  before  the  first  severe 
frost  appears. 

Let  us  now  take  up  those  higher  forms  of  life-called 
animals — "higher,"  because  they  are  absolutely  de- 
pendent upon  plants  for  their  food — and  see  how  they 
pass  their  time  while  their  food  producers,  the  plants, 
are  resting. 

Beginning  with  the  earth-worms  and  their  kindred, 
we  find  that  at  the  approach  of  winter  they  burrow 
deep  down  where  the  icy  breath  of  the  frost  never 
reaches,  and  there  they  live,  during 

t^ie  co^  season>  a  ^e  °f  comparative 
quiet.  That  they  are  exceedingly  sen- 
sitive to  warmth,  however,  may  be  proven  by  the  fact 
that  when  a  warm  rain  comes  some  night  in  February 
or  March,  thawing  out  the  crust  of  the  earth,  the  next 
morning  reveals  in  our  dooryards  the  mouths  of  hun- 
dreds of  the  pits  or  burrows  of  these  primitive  tillers 
of  the  soil,  each  surrounded  by  a  little  pile  of  pellets, 
the  castings  of  the  active  artisans  of  the  pits  during 
the  night  before. 

If  we  will  get  up  before  dawn  on  such  &  morning 
we  can  find  the  worms  crawling  actively  about  over 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  when  the  first  signs  of 
day  appear  they  seek  once  more  their  protective  bur- 
rows, and  only  an  occasional  belated  individual  serves 
as  a  breakfast  for  the  early  birds. 

The  eyes  of  these  lowly  creatures  are  not  visible, 
and  consist  of  single  special  cells  scattered  among  the 
epidermal  cells  of  the  skin,  and  connected  by  means 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER          317 

of  a  sensory  nerve  fiber  with  a  little  bunch  of  nervous 
matter  in  the  body.  Such  a  simple  visual  apparatus 
serves  them  only  in  distinguishing  light  from  dark- 
ness, but  this  to  them  is  most  important  knowledge, 
as  it  enables  them  to  avoid  the  surface  of  the  earth  by 
day,  when  their  worst  enemies,  the  birds,  are  in  active 
search  for  them. 

The  fresh-water  mussels  and  snails  and  the  crayfish 

burrow  deep  into  the  mud  and  silt  at  the  bottom  of 

ponds  and  streams  where  they  lie  motionless  during 

the  winter.     The  land   snails,  in  late 

Mussels  and  autumn  craw]  beneath  logs,  and,  bur- 
Snails  in  Winter.  .  .  .  J?  ,,  ' 

rowing  deep  into  the  soft  mold,  they 

withdraw  far  into  their  shells.  Then  each  one  forms 
with  a  mucous  secretion  two  thin  transparent  mem- 
branes, one  across  the  opening  of  the  shell  and  one 
a  little  farther  within,  thus  making  the  interior  of 
the  shell  perfectly  air-tight.  There  for  five  or  six 
months  he  sleeps,  free  from  the  pangs  of  hunger  and 
the  blasts  of  winter,  and  when  the  balmy  breezes  of 
spring  blow  up  from  the  south  he  breaks  down  and 
•devours  the  protecting  membrane  and  goes  forth  with 
his  home  on  his  back  to  seek  fresh  leaves  for  food 
and  to  find  for  himself  a  mate. 

Next  in  the  scale  come  the  insects,  which  comprise 
four-fifths  of  all  existing  animals,  and  each  one  of  the 
mighty  horde  seen  in  summer  has  passed  the  winter 
in  some  form.  One  must  look  for  them  in  strange 
places  and  under  many  disguises;  for  they  can  not 
migrate,  as  do  the  majority  of  the  birds,  nor  can  they 
live  an  active  life  while  the  source  of  their  food  sup- 
ply, the  plants,  are  inactive. 


318  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

The  majority  of  those  insects  which  in  May  or 
June  will  be  found  feeding  on  the  buds  or  leaves  of 
our  trees,  or  crawling  worm-like  over 
Eggs  of  Insects  th  f  lawns,   or  burrow- 

in  Winter.       .  , ,     ,,  ' 

ing  beneath  the  roots  of  our  garden 

plants,  are  represented  in  the  winter  by  the  eggs 
alone.  These  eggs  are  deposited  in  autumn  by  the 
mother  insect,  on  or  near  the  object  destined  to  fur- 
nish the  young,  or  larvae,  their  food.  Each  egg  cor- 
responds to  a  seed  of  one  of  our  annual  plants ;  being, 
like  it,  but  a  form  of  life  so  fashioned  and  fitted  as  to 
withstand  for  a  long  period  intense  cold ;  the  mother 
insect,  like  the  summer  form  of  the  plant,  succumb- 
ing to  the  first  severe  frost. 

Thus  myriads  of  the  eggs  of  grasshoppers  are 
in  the  early  autumn  deposited  in  the  ground,  in 
compact  masses  of  forty  to  sixty  each.  About  mid- 
April  they  begin  to  hatch,  and  the  sprightly 
little  insects,  devoid  of  wings,  but  otherwise  like 
their  parents,  begin  their  life-work  of  changing  grass 
into  flesh. 

A  comparatively  small  number  of  insects  pass  the 

winter  in  the  larval  or  active  stage  of  the  young.     Of 

these,  perhaps  the  best  known  is  the  brown  "  woolly 

worm  "  or  '•  hedgehog  caterpillar,"  as 

Larvae  of  Insects  it  ig   fvimiliarlv  called.     It   is   thickly 

in  Winter.  .,,      ..,**  ,      ,    ,     . 

covered  with  stiff  black  hairs  on  each 

end,  and  with  reddish  hairs  on  the  middle  of  the 
body.  These  hairs  appear  to  be  evenly  and  closely 
shorn,  so  as  to  give  the  "animal  a  velvety  look ;  and  as 
they  have  a  certain  degree  of  elasticity,  and  the  cater- 
pillar curls  up  at  the  slightest  touch,  it  generally  man- 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          319 

ages  to  slip  away  when  taken  into  the  hand.  Beneath 
loose  bark,  boards,  rails  and  stones,  this  caterpillar 
may  be  found  in  mid- 
winter, coiled  up  and 
apparently  lifeless.  On 
the  first  bright,  sunny 

days    Of  Spring   it    may  Fig.  88-Hedgehog  Caterpillar. 

be  seen  crawling  rapidly  over  the  ground,  seek- 
ing the  earliest  vegetation  which  will  furnish  it  a 
literal  "  breakfast."  In  April  or  May  the  chrysalis, 
surrounded  by  a  loose  cocoon  formed  of  the  hairs  of 
the  body  interwoven  with  coarse  silk,  may  be  found 
in  situations  similar  to  those  in  which  the  larva  passed 
the  winter.  From  this,  the  perfect  insect,  the  Isabella 
tiger  moth,  Pyrrharctia  Isabella  Smith,  emerges  about 
the  last  of  June.  It  is  a  medium  sized  moth,  dull 
orange  in  color,  with  three  rows  of  small  black  spots 
on  the  body,  and  some  scattered  spots  of  the  same 
color  on  the  wings. 

By  breaking  open  rotten  logs  one  can  find  in  mid- 
winter the  grubs  or  larvse  of  many  of  the  wood-boring 
beetles,  and,  beneath  logs  and  stones  near  the  margins 
of  ponds  and  brooks,  hordes  of  the  maggots  or  larvse 
of  -certain  kinds  of  flies  may  often  be  found  huddled 
together  in  great  masses.  The  larvse  of  a  few  butter- 
flies also  live  over  winter  beneath  chips  or  bunches  of 
leaves  near  the  roots  of  their  food  plant,  or  in  webs 
of  their  own  construction,  which  are  woven  on  the 
stems  close  to  the  buds,  whose  expanding  leaves  will 
furnish  them  their  first  meal  in  spring. 

Many  insects  pass  the  winter  in  the  quiescent  or 
pupal  stage;  a  state  exceedingly  well  fitted  for  hiber- 


320 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


nating,  requiring,  as   it   does,    no   food,  and  giving 
plenty    of    time    for    the    marvelous 

nsec  s    chaiiffes   which    are   then    undergone. 
in  Winter. 

home  or  these   pupae  are  enclosed  in 

dense  silken  cocoons,  which  are  bound  to  the  twigs  of 
the  plants  upon  which  the  lar- 
vae feed,  and  thus  they  swing 
securely  in  their  silken  ham- 
mocks through  all  the  storms 
of  winter.  Perhaps  the  most 
common  of  these  is  that  of  the 
brown  Cecropian  moth,  Attacks 
cecroiria  L.,  the  large  oval  co- 
coon of  which  is  a  conspicu- 
ous object  in  the  winter  on  the 
twigs  of  our  common  shade 
and  fruit  trees.  Many  other 
pupae  may  be  found  beneath 
logs  or  on  the  under  side  of 
bark,  and  usually  have  the 
chrysalis  surrounded  by  a  thin 
covering  of  hairs,  which  are 
rather  loosely  arranged.  A 
number  pass  the  cold  season 
in  the  earth  with  no  protective 
covering  whatever.  Among 
these  is  a  large  brown  chrysalis 
with  a  long  tongue  case  bent 
over  so  as  to  resemble  the 
handle  of  a  jug.  Every  farm 
boy  has  plowed  or  spaded.it 

Fig.  89— Cocoon  of  Cecropian  ,-,  •  1   v  *     1 

up  in  the  spring,  and  it  is  but 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          321 

the  pupa  of  a  large  sphinx  moth,  Protoparce  celeas- 

Hub.,  the  larva 

of  which  is  the 

great     green 

worm,   with    a 

"  horn     on     its 

tail"     SO      COin-  Fig.  90— Chrysalis  of  Tomato  Worm. 

mon  on  tomato  plants  in  "the  late  summer. 

Each  of  the  winter  forms  of  insects  above  mentioned 
can  withstand  long  and  severe  cold  weather — in  fact, 
may  be  frozen  solid  for  weeks  and  retain  life  and 
vigor,  both  of  which  are  shown  when  warm  weather 
and  food  appear  again.  Indeed,  it  is  not  an  unusually 
cold  winter,  but  one  of  successive  thawings  and  freez- 
ings, which  is  most  destructive  to  insect  life.  A  mild 
winter  encourages  the  growth  of  mold  which  attacks 
the  hibernating  larvte  and  pupse  as  soon  as,  from 
excess  of  rain  or  humidity,  they  become  sickly;  and 
it  also  permits  the  continued  activity  of  insectivorous 
mammals  and  birds.  Thus,  moles,  shrews,  and  field 
mice,  instead  of  burying  themselves  deeply  in  the 
ground,  run  about  freely  during  an  open  winter  and 
destroy  enormous  numbers  of  pupre  ;  while  such  birds 
as  the  woodpeckers,  titmice,  and  chickadees  are  con- 
stantly on  the  alert,  and  searching  in  every  crevice 
and  cranny  of  fence  and  bark  of  tree  for  the  hiber- 
nating larvae. 

Of  the  creeping,  wingless  creatures,  which  can  ever 
be  found  beneath  rocks,  rails,  chunks,  and  especially 
beneath  those  old  decaying  logs  which  are  half  buried 
in  the  rich  vegetable  mold,  the  myriapods,  or  "thou- 
sand-legs," deserve  more  than  a  passing  notice.  They 
21 


322  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

are  typical  examples  of  that  great  branch  of  the 
animal  kingdom  known  as  arthropods,  which  com- 
prises all  insects  and  crustaceans.  Each  arthropod 
has  the  body  composed  of  rings  placed  end  to  end  and 
bearing  jointed  appendages,  and  in  the  myriapods 
each  ring  and  its  appendages  can  be  plainly  seen ; 
whereas  in  the  higher  forms  of  the  branch  many  of 
the  rings  are  so  combined  as  to  be  very  difficult  to 
distinguish. 

Full  forty  kinds  of  myriapods  occur  in  any  area 
comprising  one  hundred  square  miles  in  the  eastern 
United  States.  About  twenty-five  of  them  go  by  the 

general   name  of  "thousand-legs''    or 
Myriapods  in     mniipedes,  as  each  has  from  forty  to 
Winter.          .,  Pl      ~  v     i   •      i     •          •     ^      ^      ^ 

titty-five  cylindrical  rings  in  the  body, 

and  two  pairs  of  legs  to  each  ring.     The  other  tit- 
teen  "belong  to  the  "centipede"  group,  the  body  con- 
sisting of  about  six- 
teen   flattened    seg- 
ments, or  rings,  each 
Fig.  9i-Miiiipede  or  "Thousand  Legs."      bearing  a  single  pair 

of  legs.  When  disturbed,  the  "thousand-legs"  gen- 
erally coils  up  'and  remains  motionless,  shamming 
death,  or  "playing  possum,"  as  it  is  popularly  put, 
as  a  means  of  defense;  while  the  centipede  scampers 
hurriedly  away  and  endeavors  to  hide  beneath  leaf, 
chip,  or  other  protecting  object. 

All  those  found  in  the  Northern  States  are  perfectly 
harmless,  the  true  centipede,  whose  bite  is  reputed 
much  more  venomous  than  it  really  is,  being  found 
only  in  the  South.  True,  some  of  the  centipede  group 
can  pinch  rather  sharply  with  their  beetle-like  Jaws; 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER. 


323 


and 


and   one,   our   largest  and   most  common   species,   a 

brownish  red  fellow    about   three    inches    long 

without  eyes,  can  even  draw  blood  if 

its   jaws   happen    to    strike  a   tender 

place.     When  handled,  it  always  tries 

to  bite,  perhaps  out  of  revenge  for  the 

abominably    long   Latin    name   given 

it  by  its  describer.     In  fact  the  name 

is  longer  than  the  animal  itself — Sco- 

lo-po-cryp-tops  sex-spi-no-sus  (Say) — be- 
ing its  cognomen 
in  full.  With  such 
a  handle  attached 
to  it,  who  can 
blame  it  for  at- 
tempting to  bite?  Fig.92-Centipede. 

Yet,  to  the  scientist  up  on  his 
Latin,  each  part  of  the  above 
name  bears  a  definite  and  tangi- 
ble meaning.  All  the  myriapods 
found  in  the  woods  and  fields 
feed  upon  decaying  vegetation, 
such  as  leaves,  sterns  of  weeds, 
and  rotten  wood,  and  in  winter 
three  or  four  species  can  usually 
be  found  within  or  beneath  every 
decaying  log  or  stump.  One  spe- 
cies with  very  long  legs,  Scutigera  forceps  (Raf.),  is 
often  found  in  damp  houses  or  in  cellars.  It  is  some- 
times called  the  "  wall-sweeper,"  on  account  of  its 
rapid  ungainly  gait,  and  is  even  reputed  to  prey  upon 
cockroaches  and  other  household  pests. 


Fig.  9:5— W fill-sweeper. 
(Two-thirds  natural  ni/o; 
also    head    much    enlarged. 
After  Lintner.) 


324 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


Spiders,  which  do  not  undergo  such  changes  as  do 
most  of  the  common,  six-footed  insects,  winter  either 
as  eggs  or  in  the  mature  form.      The 
Spiders  in       members  of  the  "sedentary"  or  web- 
Winter,  i ;  ••» 

spinning  group,  as  a  rule,  form  nests  in 

late  autumn,  in  each  of  which  are  deposited  from  fifty 
to  eighty  eggs,  which  survive  the  winter  and  hatch  in 
the  spring,  as  soon  as  the  food  supply  of  gnats,  flies 
and  mosquitoes  appear.  The  differ- 
ent forms  of  spiders'  nests  are  very 
interesting  objects  of  study.  Some 
are  those  close-spun,  flat,  button- 
shaped  objects,  about  half  an  inch 
in  diameter,  which  are  so  common 
in  winter  on  the  under  side  of  bark, 
chunks  and  flat  rocks.  Others  are 
balloon-shaped  and  attached  to 
weeds.  Within  the  latter  the  young 
spiders  often  hatch  in  early  winter, 
make  their  first  meal  off  their  empty 

Fig.  94— Balloon-shaped  _    J ,  ,  , 

Nest  of  Spider.        egg  cases,  and  then  begin  a  struggle 
(After  Comstock.)       for  existence,  the 

stronger  preying  upon  the  weaker 
until  the  south  winds  blow  again, 
when  they  emerge  and  scatter  far 
and  wide  in  search  of  more  nutri- 
tious sustenance. 

The  " wandering"  spiders  never  Fig.95-Spid( 
spin  webs,  but  run  actively  about 
and  pounce  upon  their  prey  with  a  tiger-like  spring, 
Six  or  eight  of  the  larger  species  of  this  group  win- 
ter in  the  mature  form  beneath  logs  and  chunks, 


ier's  Nest. 
(After  Comstock.) 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          825 

being  often  frozen  solid  during  cold  weather,  but 
thawing  out  as  healthy  as  ever  when  the  temperature 
rises.  Retiring  beneath  the  loose-fitting  bark  of 
hickory  or  maple  trees,  a  number  of  the  smaller 
tube-weaving  spiders  construct  about  themselves  a 
protecting  web  of  many  layers  of  the  finest  silk. 
Within  this  snug  retreat  they  lie  from  November 
until  April — -a  handsome,  small,  black  fellow,  with 
green  jaws  and  two  orange  spots  on  his  abdomen, 
being  the  most  common  species  found  motionless 
within  this  seeming  shroud  of  silk  on  a  day  in  mid- 
winter. 

In  any  Northern  State  as  many  as  four  hundred* 
different  kinds  of  the  six-footed  or  true  insects,  in  the 
winged  or  adult  stage,  may  be  taken  in  winter  by  any 
one  who  is  so  disposed,  and  knows  where  to  search 
for  them.  Among  the  Orthoptera,  the  "grouse  grass- 
hoppers" live  during  the  cold  season  beneath  the 
loose  bark  of  logs,  or  beneath  the  bottom  rails  of  the 
old  Virginia  worm  fences.  From  these  retreats  every 
warm,  sunny  day  tempts  them  forth  in  numbers.  On 
such  occasions  the  earth  seems  to  s\varm  with  them, 
as  they  leap  before  the  intruder,  their  hard  bodies 
striking  the  dead  leaves  with  a  sound  similar  to  that 
produced  by  falling  hail.  The  common  field  cricket 
belongs  also  to  the  Orthoptera,  and  the  young  of  vari- 
ous sizes  winter  under  rails  and  logs,  bidding  defiance 
to  Jack  Frost  from  writhin  a  little  burrow  or  pit 
beneath  the  protecting  shelter. 


*See  Psyche,  1895  and  1896,  for  notes  on  286  species  of  Coleoptera,  64  of 
Hemiptera  and  18  of  Orthoptera  taken  by  the  writer  in  Vigo  county,  Indiana, 
during  the  winter  months. 


326 


GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 


Fig.  96— Chinch  Bug. 
(Enlarged  five  times.) 


The  true  bugs,  or  ffemiptera,  hibernate  in  similar 
places;  squash  bugs,  chinch  bugs,  "stink"  bugs,  and 
others  being  easily  found  in  num- 
bers beneath  loose  bark  or  hidden 
between  the  root  leaves  of  mullein 
and  other  plants. 

Nearly  three  hundred  species  of 
Coleoptem,  or  beetles,  occupy  similar 
positions.     Almost   any  rotten   log 
or  stump  when   broken   open   dis- 
closes a  half  dozen  or  more  "horn" 
or     "bess     beetles," 
in  Winter        Passalus  cornutm  L., 

great,  shining,  clumsy,  black  fellows 
with  a  curved  horn  on  the    head.     They  are  often 
utilized  as  horses  by  country  chil- 
dren, the  horn  furnishing  an  invit- 
ing  projection    to    which    may   be 
fastened,  by  a  thread  or  cord,  chips 
and  pieces  of  bark  to  be  dragged 
about  by  the  strong  and  never  lag- 
ging beast  of  burden.     When  tired 
of  "playing  horse"  they  can  make 
of  the  insect  an  instrument  of  mu- 
Fig.97— Horn  or  Bess     sic ;  for,  when  held  by  the  body,  it 
emits  a  creaking,  hissing  noise,  pro- 
duced by  rubbing  the  abdomen  up  and  down  against 
the    inside    of  the   hard,  horny   wing   covers.     This 
beetle  passes  its  entire  life  in  cavities  in  the  rotten 
wood  on  which  it  feeds,  and  when  it  wishes  a  larger 
or  more  commodious  home  it  has  only  to  eat  the 
more. 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          327 

The  handsome  and  beneficial  lady  beetles  winter 
beneath  fallen  leaves  or  between  and  beneath  the  root 
leaves  of  the  mullein  and  the  thistle.  Our  most  com- 
mon species,  the  thirteen -spotted  lady  beetle,  Mcgilla 
riKiculata  DeG.,  is  gregarious,  col- 
lecting together  by  thousands  on 
the  approach  of  cold  weather,  and 
lying  huddled  up  like  sheep  until 
a  breath  of  spring  gives  them  the 

,.  ?0  ,    ,        ,,  ted  Lady  Beetle. 

signal  to  disperse.  Snout  beetles 
galore  can  be  found  beneath  piles  of  weeds  near 
streams  and  the  borders  of  ponds  or  beneath  chunks 
and  logs  in  sandy  places.  All  are  injurious,  and  the 
farmer  by  burning  their  hibernating  places  in  winter 
can  cause  their  destruction  in  numbers.  Rove  beetles, 
ground  beetles,  and  many  others  live  deep  down  in 
the  vegetable  mold  beneath  old  logs,  where  they  are, 
no  doubt,  as  secure  from  the  breath  of  the  ice  king  as 
if  they  had  followed  the  swallow  to  the  tropics. 

Of  the  Diptera,  or  Hies,  but  few  forms  winter  in  the 
perfect  state,  yet  the  myriads  of  house  flies  and  their 
kin,  which  next  summer  will  distract  the  busy  house- 
wife, are  represented  in  winter  by  a 
Flies  and  Gnats    ?         .      i    ,     i    •     i  •    •  i      i         i  •   i 

in  Winter  w  ^kteq    individuals  which  creep 

forth    occasionally    from    crevice    or 
cranny  and  greet  us  with  a  friendly  buzz. 

In  mid-winter  one  may  also  see  in  the  air  swarms 
of  small,  gnat-like  insects.  They  belong  to  this  order 
and  live  beneath  the  bark  of  freshly  fallen  beech  and 
other  logs.  On  warm,  sunny  days  they  go  forth  in 
numbers  for  a  sort  of  rhythmical  courtship;  their 
movements  while  in  the  air  being  peculiar  in  that 


328  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

they  usually  rise  and  fall  in  the  same  vertical  line — 
performing  a  curious  aerial  dance  which  is  long  con- 
tinued. 

Among  the  dozen  or  more  butterflies  and  moths 
which  winter  in  the  perfect  state,  the  most  common 
and  the  most  handsome  is  the  "Camberwell  beauty" 
or  '•  mourning  cloak,"  Vanessa  antiopa  L.,  a  large 
butterfly  whose  wings  are  a  rich  purplish  brown 
above,  duller  beneath  and  broadly  margined  with  a 
yellowish  band.  It  is  often  found  in  winter  beneath 
chunks  which  are  raised  a  short  distance  above  the 
ground,  or  in  the  crevices  of  old  snags  and  fence  rails. 
It  is  then  apparently  lifeless,  with  the  antennae  rest- 
ing close  along  the  back,  above  which  the  wings  are 
folded.  But  one  or  two  warm  days  are  necessary  to 
restore  it  to  activity,  and  I  have  seen  it  on  the  wing 
as  early  as  the  2d  of  March,  hovering  over  the  open 
flowers  of  the  little  snow  trillium. 

All  the  species  of  ants  survive  the  wrinter  as  mature 

forms,  either  in  their 
nests  in  the  ground  or 
in  huddled  groups  in 
half  rotten  logs  and 
stumps;  while  here 
and  there  beneath  logs 
a  solitary  queen  bum- 
ble-bee, bald  hornet,  or 
yellow  jacket  is  found 

Fig. 99-A  Queen  Bumble-bee.  ~the   sole   representa- 

tives of  their  races. 

Thus  insects  survive  the  winter  in  many  ways  and 
in  many  places,  some  as  eggs,  others  as  larvee,  still 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          829 

others  as  pupee,  and  a  large  number  as  adults — all 
being  able  to  withstand  severe  cold  and  yet  retain 
vitality  sufficient  to  recover,  live,  grow,  and  replenish 
the  earth  with  their  progeny  when  the  halcyon  days 
of  spring  appear  once  more. 

In  the  scale  of  animal  life  the  vertebrates  or  back- 
boned animals  succeed  the  insects.     Beginning  with 
the  fishes,  we  find  that  in  late  autumn  they  mostly 
seek  some  deep  pool  in  pond  or  stream  at  the  bottom 
of  which  the  water  does  not  freeze. 

Fishes  in       jj        ^      herbivorous  forms  eke  out  a 
Winter.  .          . 

precarious  existence  by  feeding  upon 

the  innumerable  diatoms  and  other  small  plants  which 
are  always  to  be  found  in  water,  while  the  carnivo- 
rous prey  upon  the  herbivorous,  and  so  maintain  the 
struggle  for  existence.  The  moving  to  these  deeper 
channels  and  pools  in  autumn  and  the  scattering  in 
the  spring  of  the  assembly  which  has  gathered  there 
constitute  the  so-called  "migration  of  fishes,"  which 
is  far  from  being  so  extensive  and  methodical  as  that 
practiced  by  the  migratory  birds. 

Many  of  the  smaller  species  of  fishes,  upon  leaving 
these  winter  resorts,  ascend  small,  clear  brooks  in 
large  numbers  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  their 
eggs  ;  as,  when  hatched  in  such  a  place,  the  young  will 
be  comparatively  free  from  the  attacks  of  the  larger 
carnivorous  forms.  Among  the  lowest  vertebrates 
often  found  in  numbers  in  early  spring  in  these 
meadow  rills  and  brooks  is  the  lamprey,  Ammoccetes 
branchialis  (L.),  or  "lamper  eel,"  as  it  is  sometimes 
called.  It  has  a  slender,  eel-like  body,  of  a  uniform 
leaden  or  blackish  color,  and  with  seven  purse-shaped 


330  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

gill  openings  on  each  side.  The  mouth  is  fitted  for 
sucking  rather  than  biting,  and  with  it  they  attach 
themselves  to  the  bodies  of  fishes  and  feed  on  their 
flesh,  which  they  scrape  off  with  their  rasp-like  teeth. 
Later  in  the  season  they  disappear  from  these  smaller 
streams,  probably  returning  in  mid-summer  to  deeper 
water.  Thoreau,  who  studied  their  habits  closely, 
says  of  them:  "They  are  rarely  seen  on  their  way 
down  stream,  and  it  is  thought  by  fishermen  that  they 
never  return,  but  wraste  away  and  die,  clinging  to 
rocks  and  stumps  of  trees  for  an  indefinite  period ;  a 
tragic  feature  to  the  scenery  of  the  river  bottoms 
worthy  to  be  remembered  with  Shakespeare's  descrip- 
tion of  the  sea  floor." 

A  few  of  the  fishes,  as  the  mud  minnow  and  smaller 
catfishes,  together  with  most  frogs,  turtles,  and  sala- 
manders, on  the 
approach    of 
winter,  burrow 
into  the  mud  at 
the  bottom   of 
FigTioo-Mud  Minnow.  the  streams  and 

Umbra  K«»(Kirtland).  p  O  11  d  8,    Or    be- 

neath  logs  near  their  margins.  There  they  live  with- 
out moving  about  and  with  all  the  vital  processes  in  a 
partially  dormant  condition,  thus  needing  little  if  any 
food. 

The  box  tortoise  or  "  dry  land  terrapin,"  the  com- 
mon toad,  and  some  salamanders  burrow  into  the 
dry  earth,  usually  going  deep  enough  to  escape  frost ; 
while  snakes  seek  some  crevice  in  the  rocks  or  hole 
in  the  ground  where  they  coil  themselves  together, 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          331 

oftentimes  in  vast  numbers,  and  prepare  for  their 
winter's  sleep.  In  an  open  winter  this  hibernation  is 
often  interrupted,  the  animal  emerging  from  its 
retreat  and  seeking  its  usual  summer  haunts  as  though 
spring  had  come  again.  Thus  I  have,  on  one  occa- 
sion, seen  a  soft-shelled  turtle  moving  gracefully  over 
the  bottom  of  a  stream  on  a  day  in  late  December, 
and  have  in  mid-January  captured  snakes  and  sala- 
manders from  beneath  a  pile  of  driftwood,  where  they 
had  taken  temporary  refuge. 

With  frogs,  especially,  this  hibernation  is  not  a  per- 
fect one,  and  there  is  a  doubt  if  in  a  mild  winter  some 
species  hibernate  at  all.  For  example,  the  little  cricket 
frog  or  "peeper"  has  been  seen  many  times  in  mid- 
winter alongside  the  banks  of  flowing  streams,  and 
during  the  open  winter  of  1888-89  numerous  specimens 
of  leopard  and  green  frogs  were  seen  on  different  occa- 
sions in  December  and  January,  while  on  February 
18th  they,  together  with  the  "  peepers,"  were  in  full 
chorus. 

Of  our  mammals,  a  few  of  the  rodents  or  gnawers, 
as  the  ground-hogs,  gophers  and  chipmunks,  hibernate 
in  burrows  deep  enough. to  escape  the  cold,  and  either 
feed  on  a  stored  supply  of  food,  or,  like  the  snakes 
and  crayfish,  do  not  feed  at  all. 

Others,  as  the  rabbits,  field  mice,  and  squirrels,  are 

more  or  less  active  and  forage  freely  on  whatever  they 

can  find,  eating  many  things  which  in  summer  they 

would  spurn  with  scorn.    To  this  class 

T!in  Wkiter^    belongs  that  intelligent  but  injurious 

animal    the    musquash     or    muskrat. 

Those  which  inhabit  the  rivers  and  larger  streams  live 


882  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

in  burrows  dug  deep  beneath  the  banks,  but  those  in- 
habiting sluggish  streams  and  ponds  usually  construct 
a  conical  winter  house  about  three  feet  in  diameter  and 
from  two  to  three  feet  in  height.  These  houses  are 
made  of  coarse  grasses,  rushes,  branches  of  shrubs, 
and  small  pieces  of  driftwood,  closely  cemented  to- 
gether with  stiff,  clayey  mud.  The  top  of  the  house 
usually  projects  two  feet  or  more  above  the  water, 
and  when  sun-dried  is  so  strong  as  to  easily  sustain 
the  weight  of  a  man.  The  walls  are  generally  about 
six  inches  in  thickness  and  are  very  difficult  to  pull 
to  pieces.  Within  is  a  single  circular  chamber  with  a 
shelf  or  floor  of  mud,  sticks,  leaves  and  grass,  ingen- 
iously supported  on  coarse  sticks  stuck  endwise  into 
the  mud  after  the  manner  of  piles.  In  the  center  of 
this  floor  is  an  opening,  from  which  six  or  eight  di- 
verging paths  lead  to  the  open  water  without,  so  that 
the  little  artisan  has  many  avenues  of  escape  in  case 
of  danger.  These  houses  are  often  repaired  and  used 
for  several  winters  in  succession,  but  are  vacated  on 
the  approach  of  spring.  During  the  summer  the 
muskrat  is,  in  the  main,  a  herbivorous  animal,  but  in 
winter  necessity  develops  its  .carnivorous  propensities 
and  it  feeds  then  mainly  upon  the  mussels  and  cray- 
fish which  it  can  dig  from  the  bottom  of  the  pond  or 
stream  in  which  its  house  is  built. 

The  bats  pass  the  winter  in  caves,  the  attics  of 
houses  and  barns,  or  in  hollow  trees,  hanging  down- 
ward by  their  hind  claws.  Motionless  for  months 
they  thus  remain,  and  those  in  the  more  exposed  situ- 
ations are,  doubtless,  frozen  solid.  Yet,  in  time,  their 
blood  flows  freely  once  again  and  they  become  as 


XV. 


OUT 


WINTER  HOUSE  OF  MUSKRAT. 


PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS  IN  WINTER.          333 

expert  on  the  wing  as  though  the  year  were  one  con- 
tinual jubilee  of  insect  chasing,  and  frost  and  snow 
were  to  them  unknown. 

All  the  carnivora,  or  flesh-eaters,  as  the  mink, 
skunk,  opossum,  fox  and  wolf,  are  in  winter  active 
and  voracious,  needing  much  food  to  supply  the  neces- 
sary animal  heat  of  the  body.  Hence  they  are  then 
much  more  bold  than  in  summer,  and  the  hen  yard  or 
sheep  pen  of  the  farmer  is  too  frequently  called  upon 
to  supply  this  extra  demand. 

But  of  all  our  animals  it  seems  to  me  the  birds 
have  solved  the  winter  problem  best.  Possessing  an 
enduring  power  of  night  and  a  knowledge  of  a  south- 
ern sunny  sky,  beneath  which  food  is  plentiful,  they 
alone  of  all  the  living  forms  about  us  have  little  fear 
of  the  coming  of  the  frost.  True,  fifty  or  more  species 
remain  in  each  of  the  Northern  States  during  the  cold 
season,  but  they  are  .hardy  birds  which  feed  mainly 
upon  seeds,  as  the  snow-bird  and  song  sparrow;  on 
flesh,  as  the  hawks  and  crows ;  or  on  burrowing 
insects,  as  the  nuthatches  and  woodpeckers. 

Such  are  some  of  the  solutions  to  the  problem  of 
life  in  winter  which  the  plants  and  animals  about  us 
have  worked  out;  such  some  of  the  forms  which  they 
undergo;  the  places  which  they  inhabit. 

To  the  thinking  mind  a  knowledge  of  these  solu- 
tions but  begets  other  and  greater  problems,  such  as 
how  can  a  living  thing  be  frozen  solid  for  weeks  and 
yet  retain  vitality  enough  to  fully  recover?  How  can 
a  warm-blooded  animal  sleep  for  months  without  par- 
taking of  food  or  drink?  And,  greater  than  either, 
what  is  that  which  we  call  life  ? 


334  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  two  objects,  similar  in  size,  color, 
organs,  everything — twins  from  the  same  mother  in 
all  outward  respects.  One  pulsates  and  throbs  with 
that  which  we  call  "life."  It  possesses  heat,  bodily 
motion,  animal  power.  The  other  is  cold,  motionless, 
pulseless,  throbless  —  a  thing  of  clay.  What  is  that 
"life"  which  the  one  possesses  and  the  other  lacks? 
Ah,  there's  the  rub  !  With  the  wisest  of  men  we  can 
only  answer,  "Quien  sabe?"  (Who  knows?) 


A  SEEKER  AFTER  GOLD. 


A  few  months  ago  I  spent  a  day  in  the  wildest  part 
of  Brown  county,  looking  for  traces  of  that  precious 
metal  which  Dame  Rumor  says  exists  in  quantity  in 
the  fine  sand  and  silt  along  the  streams  and  in  the  val- 
leys thereabouts.  My  eyes,  unaccustomed  to  such 
work,  sawr  no  traces  of  yellow  amidst  the  gray  and 
the  black,  and  I  was  beginning  to  doubt  its  existence 
except  in  the  mind  of  some  enthusiastic  seeker,  wrhen, 
on  turning  a  sharp  bend  in  a  stream,  I  came  suddenly 
upon  an  old  man,  weather-beaten,  roughly  clad,  gaunt 
of  figure  and  haggard  of  face,  who  was  bending  over 
a  pan  of  moist  sand  and  silt  which  he  was  shaking 
with  a  rocking  motion  to  and  fro.  So  busily  engaged 
in  his  work  was  he  that  he  did  not  notice  my  ap- 
proach, and  I  stood  beside  him  and  heard  his  ejacula- 
tion of  ek'light  as  he  reached  down  and  picked  from 
the  bottom  of  the  pan  a  piece  of  gold  about  double  the 
size  of  a  grain  of  wheat.  "Ah,  my  little  beauty,  I  have 
found  you  at  last,"  said  he;  then  for  the  first  time  no- 
ticing my  presence,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  with  an  excla- 
mation of  surprise,  letting  fall  his  pan  in  his  excite- 
ment. His  locks  were  unkempt,  his  face  begrimed,  but 
his  eyes  sparkled  with  more  than  ordinary  brilliancy 
and  through,  them  was  revealed  the  soul  of  a  man  who 
was  an  enthusiast  in  his  chosen  work — the  search  for 
gold. 

(335) 


336  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

I  engaged  him  in  conversation  and  found  that  he 
had  been  washing  the  sands  for  three  weeks  and  longer, 
but  with  very  poor  success — less  than  an  ounce  being 
the  total  result  of  his  labor — all  in  small  grains,  the 
one  just  found  being  the  largest.  "I  am  doing  this 
wort  more  for  pleasure  than  for  profit,"  said  he.  "  I 
do  not  have  to  work,  for  I  spent  many  years  pros- 
pecting in  the  west  and  finally  found  a  paying  lead, 
sold  out  and  came  home,  not  rich,  but  with  enough 
to  keep  me  from  want  for  the  remainder  of  my  days. 
The  bright  Indian  summer  weather  of  the  past  few 
weeks  has  tempted  me  forth  and  again  have  I  been 
seeking  the  yellow  grains  in  the  sands  and  gravel  of 
these  streams." 

Talking  farther  with  him,  I  found  him  to  be  a  man 
of  fine  education — a  graduate  of  an  eastern  college, 
but  a  life  long  rover — who,  like  thousands  of  others, 
had  given  his  years,  more  than  thirty  of  them,  to  the 
search  for  gold — forsaking  friends,  society,  all,  in  a 
vain  seeking  for  great  wealth. 

He  invited  me  to  his  tent,  pitched  on  a  near-by 
sunny  slope,  and  there  for  an  hour  or  longer  enter- 
tained me  with  anecdotes  of  his  prospecting  life 
among  the  hills  and  mountains  of  the  distant  west. 
Noticing  a  number  of  books  in  the  tent,  I  led  him  to 
talk  of  them,  and  found  his  knowledge  of  poetry  to 
be  extensive,  Bryant  and  Wordsworth  being  his  ac- 
knowledged favorites.  As  I  Avas  leaving  he  took  from 
between  the  covers  of  one  of  the  volumes  a  folded 
piece  of  paper  and  handing  it  to  me  said  :  "At  times  I 
indulge  a  little  in  poetry  myself.  Here  is  a  copy  of 
my  latest  verse.  When  you  get  home,  read  it,  and  if 


A  SEEKER  AFTER  GOLD.  337 

we  ever  meet  again  tell  me  what  you  think  of  it."  I 
took  it,  and,  having  heard  nothing  from  him  since,  I 
venture  to  reproduce  it  here,  as  it  shows  that  he  real- 
ized something  of  what  he  had  lost  in  the  years  gone 
by,  and  also  that  in  poetry  as  in  life  his  favorite  theme 
was  gold.  It  was  inscribed  "  To  Some  Nuggets  of 
Brown  County  Gold,"  and  ran  as  follows : 

TO  SOME  NUGGETS  OF  BKOWN  COUNTY  GOLD. 

Gold,  gold, 

Tiny  nuggets  of  yellow  gold, 
Brought  from  the  north  by  a  glacier  cold, 
Borne  with  the  sands  and  the  pebbles  old 
To  the  vales  of  Brown,  and  there  out-doled 
To  remain  alway. 

Gold,  gold, 

Ever  a  curse  to  man  the  bold, 
Luring  him  forth  from  his  father's  fold 
To  lands  far  away,  where  hills  uprolled 
Forever  will  be ;  and  bells  untolled 
Till  the  judgment  day. 

Gold,  gold, 

How  many  faces  are  pinched  and  old, 
How  many  hearts  once  warm  and  bold 
To-day  are  timid,  and  sere  and  cold, 
How  many  bodies  beneath  the  mold, 
For  search  of  thee? 

Gold,  gold, 

To  mortal  ear  the  half's  not  told 
Of  men's  souls  lost  and  women's  sold 
For  sake  of  such  baubles  as  these  I  hold. 
Then,  curses  upon  thee,  yellow  gold, 
Forever  be. 


22 


INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Abbott,  C.  C.,  Quoted 3,  55,  68,  268,  279,  289,  311 

Acrididas 231 

Alg*  in  Winter '. 313 

Allen,  Grant,  Quoted 245,  248 

American  Cockroach 202 

Animals  in  Winter 313 

Banded  Rattlesnake 43 

Bat,  Little  Brown 110,  145 

Bats  in  Winter 332 

Beetle,  Blind 171 

Bess 326 

Horn ' 326 

Beetles,  Cave 110 

Hibernating 15 

In  Winter . . „ . .  326 

Lady 327 

Rove 327 

Snout 327 

Whirling ...... 15 

Birch,  Dwarf  186 

Birds,  Destruction  of  Haunts  of 296 

In  Winter , 253,  333 

Permanent  Residents 253 

Twelve  Winter 253 

Winter  Residents 254 

Winter  Visitors 254 

Blackbird,  Red-shouldered 17 

Blattidce 198 

Blind  Cray-fish 116 

Blind  Fish .123 

Blue-grass,  Kentucky 93,  180 

Bluebird 190,  311 

(339) 


340  GLEANINGS  FEOM  NATURE. 

PAGE. 

Brook  Lamprey 329 

Bugs  in  Winter 326 

Bull-frog 16 

Bumble-bees  in  Winter 328 

Bunting,  Black-throated 284 

Indigo 86 

Butcher  Bird 286 

Butterfly,  Velvety-brown 12,  328 

Butterflies,  Hibernating '. 12,  15,  328 

Camberwell  Beauty 12,  328 

Canal,  Mid-summer  along  the  Old 82 

Mid-autumn  along  the  Old  189 

Tow-path  of 85 

Cardinal  Flower 85,  93 

Caterpillar,  Hedgehog 318 

Cave,  Coon . .  107 

Donnehue's 118 

Eller's  . .' Ill 

Little  Wyandotte 175 

Marengo 129 

Porter's 104 

Shawnee 121 

Shiloh 115 

Wyandotte 137 

Cave  Bats 143,  145 

Beetle 110,  171 

Cricket 175 

Crustacean 113,  161 

Flies 106,  110,  158,  168 

Harvestman 128,  154 

Moth 157 

Mouse 136 

Myriapod 154 

Pseudo-scorpion 166 

Quarry 150,  164 

Salamanders 105,  119 

Shrimp 112 

Spiders 106,  131 


INDEX.  341 

PAGE. 

Caves,  Clifty 126 

Formation  of 101 

Ten  Indiana 99 

Cecropian  Moth 320 

Cedar  Bird 291 

Centipedes  in  Winter 322 

Chat,  Yellow-breasted 86 

Chelifer,  Blind 166 

Cherry  Bird ' 291 

Chickadee,  Black-capped 309 

Chinch  Bug 326 

Choke-berry  185 

Cockroaches 198 

American 202 

Oriental 199 

Pennsylvania 202 

Kemedy  for 207 

Composites 84,  91,  180,  249 

Coon  Cave 107 

Copper-head  Snake 42 

Cones,  Elliot,  Quoted 77,  277 

Cow-bird 78 

Cranberry 184 

Cray-fish,  Blind 116 

Crickets,  Field 225 

Ground '. 226 

Mole 223 

Stone  or  Camel 221 

Tree 229 

Cricket  Frog ] 16 

Cross-bill,  American 303 

White-winged 304 

Croton  Bug 204 

Crows 187,  190,  269,  274 

Crustaceans,  Cave 113 

Darter,  Kainbow 19,  22,  302 

Donnehue's  Cave .' 118 

Draba . .  13 


342  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

PAGE. 
Dragon-flies 24 

Earth-worms  in  Winter 316 

filler's  Cave Ill 

Energy,  Transmutation  of 25,  290 

Environment,  Effect  of 22,  125,  128,  137,  158,  283 

Fishes,  Migration  of 15,  329 

In  Winter 329 

Two  Fops  among  the 19 

Flies,  Cave  106,  110 

In  Winter 327 

Flicker 17 

Flowers,  Old  Fashioned 88 

Fog-fruit '. 84 

Food  of  Plants 96 

Forbes,  Dr.  S.  A.,  Quoted 22,  273,  299 

Fox  Sparrow 18 

FringillidK 298,  303 

Frog,  Cricket 16 

Frogs  in  Winter 331 

Fungi  in  Winter 314 

Geese,  Wild,  Flight  of 16 

Gnat-catcher,  Blue-gray 75 

Nest  of   78 

Gnats  in  Winter 327 

Gold,  a  Seeker  after 335 

Brown  County 335,  337 

Grape,  Wild    193 

Grass-finch 190,  2*99 

Grasshopper,  American 238 

Carolina 242 

Common  Meadow 220 

Cone-headed 217 

Florida 241 

Green 216 

Kansas 239 

Lance-tailed  .                                   219 


INDEX.  343 

PAGE. 

Grasshopper,  Lubberly 

Mottled 187 

Red-legged , 239 

Grasshoppers,  Grouse 235,  325 

Molting  of 234 

Pea-green 240 

Songs  of 237 

Winter 235,  325 

Young  of 233 

Gravel  Pit  83 

QryUidK 222 

Hackberry    294 

Harbingers  of  Spring   9 

Harvestman,  Cave 128,  154 

Hazlenut . 193 

Hedge-hog  Caterpillar 318 

Hepatica 14 

Hornets  in  Winter , 328 

Ice  Age,  the  Great 83 

Insects,  Eggs  of,  in  Winter 317 

Forest,  Number  of 258 

Larva?  of,  in  Winter 318 

Pupae  of,  in  Winter 320 

Interdependence  of  Plants  and  Animals. . . .  : 12,  290 

Iron-weed 91 

Isabella  Tiger  Moth 319 

Junco,  Slate-colored 190,  298 

Katydid,  Angular-winged    215 

Broad-winged 214 

Katydids 197,  212 

Lamper  Eel 329 

Lamprey 329 

Larch,  Black  181 

LocustidcK  ..  211 


344  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

PAGE. 

Mammals  in  Winter 331 

Moccasin,  Water 50 

Mud  Minnow 330 

Muskrat  in  Winter 331 

Mussels  in  Winter 317 

Myriapods  in  Winter 322 

Nuthatches,  White-bellied 190 

Oriental  Eoach 199 

Orthoptera,  Number  of  in  Indiana -        197 

Owl,  Great  Horned    56 

Paridce 307 

Paroquet,  Carolina    283 

Pepper  and  Salt 14 

Phasmidce 208 

Pigeons,  Wild 284 

Pillar  of  the  Constitution 1<49 

Pitcher  Plant 184 

Plants  in  Winter 313 

Plant  Food , 96 

Porter's  Cave 104 

Pseudo-scorpion,  Blind 166 

Quarry,  a  Cave 150,  164 

Raccoon , 105 

Rainbow  Darter 19,  22,  302 

Rain-crow 86 

Rattle-snake    41 

Banded 43 

Prairie 46 

Rattle  of. 43,  44 

Timber 43 

Resting  Spores   314 

Robin 260 

Rusts  in  Winter  . .  314 


INDEX.  345 

PAGE. 

Salamander,  Cave 105,  119 

Sapsucker 266 

Scudder,  S.  H.,  Quoted 215 

Seeds,  Definition  of 314 

Dissemination  of 94,  249,  291 

Shawnee  Cave 1 21 

Shiloh  Cave 115 

Shrike,  Great  Northern 287 

Loggerhead   287 

Shrimp,  Cave 112 

Sink-holes 100 

Formation  of 101 

Skunk  Cabbage 13 

Smartweed 84 

Snails  in  Winter 317 

Snakes  in  General 27 

Snake,  Bead 48 

Black 28,  35,  37,  38,  53 

Butler's  Garter 65 

Chain   60 

Copper-head   42 

Coral 48 

Corn 61 

DeKay's  Brown 67 

Diamond  Water 51 

Fox 61 

Garter 33,  36,  37,  63 

"Glass " 27,  28 

Grass 63 

Green 39,  65,  67 

Ground   69 

Hog-nosed 71 

"  Hoop  " 27,  28 

Horn 58 

House 38,  59 

King 36,  57 

Kirtland's 71 

Leather    52 

Milk..  59 


346  GLEANINGS  FROM  NATURE. 

PAGE. 

Snake,  Pilot 38,  55 

Queen 52 

Racine  Garter 64 

Red 60 

Eibbon 62 

King-necked 70 

Spotted  Water 50 

Storer's  Brown 68 

Summer 35,  66 

Virginia's 70 

Water 35,  49 

Worm , 69 

Snake  Lies 27 

Snakes,  Bite  of  Harmless 37 

Cannibalism  of 35 

Eggs  of 29,  30 

Food  of 34 

Harmless 49 

Hibernation  of 33,  330 

Methods  of  Defense  of 38 

Number  of  in  Indiana 40 

Poisonous 40 

Skeleton  of 31 

Skin  of 31 

Structure  of 30 

Tongue  of 32 

Young  of 29,  30 

Sneeze-weed 84 

Snow-bird 190,  298 

Snow  Trillium 11 

Sparrow  Family 298,  303 

Fox    18 

Song 190 

Vesper ! 299 

Sphinx  Moth 321 

Spiders,  as  Balloonists 193 

Cave 106,  131 

In  Winter 324 

Nests..  '  324. 


INDEX.  347 

PAGE. 

Spring  Beauty 14 

Spring,  Harbingers  of  9 

Springtails,  Cave 110 

Stalactites 102 

Stalagmites 102 

Struggle  for  Existence 13,  22,  56,  79,  84,  88,  93,  116,  246,  283 

Sun-fish,  Long-eared 22 

Sumach,  Poison 186 

Swamp  Elder 186 

Sword-bearer 218 

Tamarack  Swamp,  A  Day  in 179 

Tree 181 

Texan  Nettle 250 

Thoreau,  Quoted 1,18,  186,  330 

Thrush,  Brown 296 

Titmouse,  Tufted 307 

Trillium,  Snow , : .  11-13 

Trumpet  Creeper 89 

Turkey  Pea 14 

Turtles  in  Winter 330 

Viper,  Spreading 28,  29,  71 

Sand 72 

Vipers,  Pit 40 

Wahoo 194 

Walking-stick 208 

Wall  Sweeper 323 

Wax-wing,  Carolina 293 

Cedar 293 

Weed,  Definition  of  245,  250 

Weeds 245 

Twenty  Worst  in  Indiana 251 

Twenty  Worst  in  United  States 246 

Introduction  of  into  United  States 248 

Wherrymen 15 

Whirling  Beetles 15 

Whitlow  Grass  . .  13 


348  GLEANINGS  FHOM  NATUliK 

PAGE. 

Winter  Birds 253 

Woodcock 17 

Woodpeckers,  Adaptations  of 261 

Benefits  of 258,  263,  267,  273 

Characters  of 254 

Woodpecker,  Carolina 256 

Downy 262,  265 

Hairy 262 

Ivory-billed 283 

Pileated 284 

Red-bellied 256 

Red-headed 269 

Yellow-bellied 266 

Wren,  Great  Carolina  275 

Mocking 278 

Winter 194,  280 

Wyandotte  Cave 137 

Length  of 173 

Little 175 

Map  of 140 

Yellow-hammer 17 

Zebra  Bird . .  256 


Gleaning! 


from  nature 


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